Bergen Firefighters Who Died In Line Of Duty Honored In Mahwah Service

MAHWAH, NJ — Basil Pizzuto, Alex Moss, Kevin May — these are the names of local firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2022; all were respected and fondly remembered at a memorial service over the weekend in Mahwah.

Saddle Brook Fire Capt. Pizzuto, and the two firefighters in Upper Saddle River and Westwood, respectively, were each honored by the New Jersey & New York Volunteer Firemen's Association at the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute on Sunday.

"All I can say is what a day," association president Roy DeYoung, Jr., said. "(It) was a great honor to respect these men for their service."

Each of the three fallen firefighters, who died as a direct or proximate result of injuries sustained while on duty, was honored along with 147 others — 115 from Bergen County and 32 from Rockland County — who have passed away in the past year.

Pizzuto, also a Ridgewood assistant principal, was a chaplain with his fire department, and a father to two boys. Moss, the owner of a consulting firm, was with his department for 30 years, and a father to three girls. And May, who worked for FedEx, served as vice president of his department, and fought fires for 11 years.

Each of the late firefighters died of apparent heart attacks — Pizzuto the morning after overseeing a self-contained breathing apparatus refresher course for department members, and Moss and May after responding to residential fire calls, one of which was for a five-alarm blaze; this is all according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

"We remember these members today and everyday as they were all an integral part of our history," the Saddle Brook Fire Department said in a social media post. " We also honor and thank the families or our departed brothers and sisters."