Six fallen NJ firefighters among those to be honored in national ceremony

Six New Jersey firefighters, including a former West Milford fire commissioner and two firefighters killed in a July 2023 blaze on a cargo ship in Newark Bay, will be honored this weekend by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Officials with the Maryland-based organization said they plan to honor 226 firefighters during the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend on May 4 and 5 at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The list includes 89 firefighters who lost their lives in 2023 and 137 others who died in previous years.

The weekend is a time to "pause and reflect on the heroic efforts and selfless service of the fallen firefighters we are paying tribute to this year,” said Victor Stagnaro, the organization's CEO.

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“We will always remember the bravery, commitment and sacrifices of each of these 226 heroes — and their families," he said.

Two of the North Jersey firefighters set to receive tributes are Augusto Acabou, 45, and Wayne Brooks Jr., 49, from the Newark Fire Department. Posthumously promoted to captains, the two were among hundreds of first responders who descended on Port Newark on July 5, 2023, in response to a fire aboard the Grande Costa D'Avorio cargo ship.

Both members of Newark's Engine 16, Acabou and Brooks were among the firefighters who climbed to the top floors of the 12-story ship, where its cargo of used cars destined for Africa was on fire. Sometime after, a mayday call went out for Acabou. Then another came for Brooks. Both were extracted from the ship but pronounced dead on the scene.

“We just lost two of our best in the city of Newark, two of our bravest here in this city,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the next day.

Their deaths resulted in a raft of criticism for the city's fire department and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages police and firefighting teams at the three major airports it oversees but not Port Newark.

Other New Jersey firefighters due for honors are Fire Chief Edward Steines, 64, of the West Milford Fire Department, and Anthony Duivenvoorde, 62, of the Sussex Fire Department. Duivenvoorde died of a heart attack after responding to multiple calls on April 12, 2023, including a structure fire at a diner. Steines also suffered a heart attack and died on the morning of April 16, after a day that included a train fire to which he responded in nearby Hardyston Township.

Steines at the time was the fire commissioner, Office of Emergency Management coordinator and Department of Public Works director in his 80-square-mile hometown. A West Milford High School graduate and longtime volunteer firefighter, Steines was a member of the first aid squad and had worked for the local government since 1985.

"He touched the lives of a lot of people here in town, not only as an employee, but as a volunteer pretty much his entire life," West Milford Mayor Michele Dale said after Steines' death.

The ceremonies will also honor firefighters from farther south in New Jersey, Jeff Pfeiffer and Timothy Pfleger. Pfeiffer, 66, died on March 24, 2023, one day after experiencing shortness of breath and becoming unresponsive following an investigation. A Deptford firefighter, Pfeiffer then fell into critical condition before suffering a fatal heart attack.

Pfleger, the former chief of the Keyport Fire Department, died on Sept. 30, 2022, at age 32 due to complications suffered in a motor vehicle crash. The crash took place that July while he was returning from Fire Department-mandated training at the Monmouth County Fire Academy. Pfleger underwent reconstructive surgery on his right hip, but he died after developing a blood clot caused by immobility due to blunt impact trauma, foundation records show.

The weekend's foundation's ceremonies start with the National Fallen Firefighters Candlelight Service on May 4 and end with the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service the next morning. Both will be streamed live on the NFFF’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook page. A series of activities exclusively for the families and fire departments of the honored firefighters are also planned for Friday and Saturday in Maryland, foundation officials said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: National foundation to honor fallen firefighters, including 6 from NJ