Fire Rescue News- Funeral services set for Cape May firefighter Andy Boyt

Posted: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 7:44 pm | Updated: 8:20 pm, Wed Oct 5, 2011.

By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com

CAPE MAY — Funeral arrangements have been announced for Cape May Fire Department Lt. Andy Boyt, who died on Monday hours after responding to a fire call.

Cape May Fire Chief Jerry Inderwies Jr. said Boyt, 45, of Washington Street, will receive....Continue Reading

full Fire Service honors. Boyt’s passing is considered a death in the line of duty under a law signed by President George W. Bush in 2003. The Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act extended line-of-duty deaths to 24 hours after an emergency-response call or training exercise.

“Lt. Boyt will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his colleagues and friends,” Inderwies said in a prepared statement issued Wednesday.

Visitation will be on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Lower Cape May Regional High School Performing Arts Center, 687 Route 9, in Lower Township. Funeral services will be at the arts center on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery in Lower Township.

Boyt, who is survived by his wife Michelle, began as a volunteer firefighter in 1991 and became a full-time paid firefighter and EMT in 1999. He was highly regarded by his peers, said Inderwies, and received numerous lifesaving awards. He recently got an award for rescuing people during the Dec. 23, 2010 fire at the Merion Inn. He once rescued a dog that had fallen through the ice at Lake Lily in Cape May Point.

Promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 2006, Boyt served as the department’s Health and Safety Officer and as a

Rescue Specialist with New Jersey Task Force I. He was a founding member of Cape May County Urban Search and Rescue and was Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator in Cape May, serving in hurricanes, blizzards and coastal storms.

Inderwies said an autopsy is pending.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in his memory to the American Heart Association, 1 Union Street-Suite 301, Robbinsville, N.J. 08691, or to the Cape May Fire Department, P.O. Box 375, Cape May, N.J. 08204.

Contact Richard Degener:

609-463-6711

RDegener@pressofac.com