He added, “And still that would be the understatement of the century.”

The funeral began even as mourners continued to flow into the massive cathedral, filling every pew and standing in rows in the rear and sides. Cardinal Dolan, in his homily, compared the fallen firefighter to Jesus Christ: “Both we love. Both we thank. One we miss, very much.”

“Jesus came to save us from everlasting flames,” he added, “Michael to rescue us from earthly ones.”

On Thursday night, Lieutenant Davidson’s company, Engine 69, known as the Harlem Hilton, responded to a call of smoke and flames coming from a basement on St. Nicholas Avenue. The call had come from a film crew working on the upcoming movie “Motherless Brooklyn,” directed by Edward Norton.

Lieutenant Davidson, as the nozzle man, was among the first to enter the building and descend to the basement. Thick smoke made seeing anything impossible, and before long the firefighters’ air tanks were signaling they were low. Firefighters followed the hose with their hands to find their way outside, but Lieutenant Davidson lost his grip, got turned around in the smoke and collapsed. He was taken to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead early Friday morning. He was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.