Franklin Township, NJ Firefighter, 21, Dies in House Fire
By WAYNE PARRY The Associated Press
Date of Incident: April 11, 2006
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. � A volunteer firefighter who led a team of colleagues into a burning house early Tuesday died after the floor on which he was standing dropped into the building's basement. A woman who lived in the house also was killed in the blaze.
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The death of 21-year-old Kevin Apuzzio of New Brunswick, who also was a Rutgers University student, left the fire department in this Somerset County community reeling.
"We are all proud to have called him a brother firefighter. This is certainly a tragic event that we wish had never happened," said Wells Wilson, a spokesman for the East Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Co.
The blaze also claimed the life of Betty Scott, 75, who fell with Apuzzio when the first floor collapsed. Her husband, William Scott, escaped the flames and was able to tell firefighters that his wife was still inside, prompting the rescue attempt.
Four other firefighters were hospitalized with injuries including smoke inhalation. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Betty Scott was well-liked in the neighborhood.
"All good adjectives you can use apply to her: pleasant, very nice to be around, everything like that," said neighbor Oliver Forster. "This is a sad day."
Wilson said Apuzzio led a team of four other firefighters into the house after they confirmed a report of a person trapped in the burning home that had come in to the department shortly after 6 a.m.
While searching the first floor of the home, the floor dropped into the basement, trapping Apuzzio for an undetermined amount of time before he could be pulled out, Wilson said. The firefighter was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
"Our police and firefighters put their lives on the line, and saying that almost becomes a cliche until something like this comes around, and then you say to yourself, 'It really is true,"' said Mayor Brian D. Levine.
Apuzzio was a volunteer with the East Franklin Fire Company and also a paid firefighter at Rutgers.
On Tuesday morning at the unit where Apuzzio volunteered, firefighters put their flag at half-staff and draped the building in purple and black bunting, the traditional signs of mourning for a fallen firefighter.
Biographical Info
Age: 21
Additional Info: Appuzio was a student at Rutgers University, where he was a volunteer firefighter. He also worked for the East Franklin Fire Company.
Cause of Death: Appuzio died in a house fire.
