MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND
FIRE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA
ATTEND FUNERAL MASS FOR FIREFIGHTER JOHN G. BELLEW

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and thousands of firefighters joined family members and friends of Firefighter John G. Bellew at his funeral today. Firefighter Bellew was fatally injured battling a three-alarm fire in a four-story apartment building at 236 East 178th Street in the Bronx last Sunday.

Thousands of Firefighters, Fire Officers and community members lined the streets outside St. Margaret’s of Antioch Roman Catholic Church in Pearl River, New York, to pay a final tribute to their fallen brother.

Bellew, 37, a 10-year veteran of FDNY, and five other firefighters from Ladder 27 and Rescue 3, were searching the fourth floor of the fire building for occupants who where believed to be trapped above the fire. The fire and extreme heat rapidly intensified trapping the firefighters and subsequently forcing them to jump from the fourth floor window to the ground below. As a result, they all suffered critical, life-threatening injuries. Firefighter Bellew was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital where, a short time later, he succumbed to his injuries.

John G. Bellew attended Marist College and Manhattan College. He was appointed to the Fire Department on July 17, 1994 and was currently assigned to Ladder Company 27 in the Bronx. During his career he was also assigned to Ladder 10 and Engine 23 in Manhattan.

A resident of Pearl River, Firefighter Bellew is survived by his wife, Eileen, and their four children; Brielle, 6, Jack, 3, Katreana, 2, and Kieran, 5 months. He is the 1,130 th member of the New York City Fire Department to die in the line of duty in the Department’s 140-year history.

Contact: Francis X. Gribbon / David Billig (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny