Rest in Peace..
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/events/2012/112012a.shtml
Published: November 20, 2012
Lt. Joseph DiBernardo Remembered with Plaque Dedication
Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano; the DiBernardo family, including his father, Deputy Chief Joseph DiBernardo, Sr., mother, Barbara, and sister, Carolyn; and ceremonial officers pause for Taps as a plaque on Rescue 3's memorial wall is dedicated for Lt. Joseph DiBernardo.
One year after his tragic death, firefighters, family and friends gathered at the quarters of Rescue 3 in the Bronx to remember Lt. Joseph DiBernardo.
?Bravery, leadership and courage are all qualities for which we will remember him,? Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. ?Those who loved him will always feel his loss.?
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano added: ?He?s a rare individual who realized his childhood dream [to be a firefighter]. And his service to this city, his contributions to the job will have an impact for years to come.?
Lt. DiBernardo suffered critical injuries on Jan. 23, 2005, when he and five other firefighters were forced to jump from a fourth floor window after being trapped by fire. Lt. Curtis Meyran and Lt. John Bellew died that day from their injuries.
The hero endured multiple surgical procedures, years of medical treatments and physical therapy due to his injuries. He retired from the FDNY in January 2006. At the time of his death was taking numerous pain medications, which the Suffolk County Medical Examiner cited as determinate in his accidental death on Nov. 22, 2011.
?He inspired all of us with his enthusiasm and commitment to firefighting,? Chief of Department Edward Kilduff said.
Lt. DiBernardo was appointed to the FDNY on Oct. 15, 1995, after first working for the Department as a Fire Alarm Dispatcher in the Bronx Communications Office.
In his 16 years as a New York City Firefighter, Lt. DiBernardo was assigned to Ladder 56 in the Bronx, Engine 47 in Manhattan, Engine 238 in Brooklyn, and Squad 61 and Rescue 3 in the Bronx. In addition, he taught rescue training at the FDNY Technical Rescue School.
Lt. DiBernardo also served as a volunteer Firefighter in the Setauket Fire Department in Suffolk County, NY.
?He understood the commitment of what it took to be a rescue firefighter,? Capt. James Ellson of Rescue 3 said. ?He will always be a part of this fire company.?
Hundreds of firefighters, family and friends attended the plaque dedication.
Retired Firefighter Jeff Cool, Rescue 3, who was among the six firefighters forced to jump from the Bronx fourth floor window in 2005, described Lt. DiBernardo as an incredible firefighter with an incredible memory.
?Every time I worked with him I learned something new,? he said.
He also described the experience at the Bronx fire. He said and then-Firefighter DiBernardo stood at different windows, the fire blowing out over their heads. Firefighter Cool had a safety rope, and said he would lower Lt. DiBernardo with it. Lt. DiBernardo refused, saying he would lower Firefighter Cool because he had a wife and kids.
After lowering Firefighter Cool as far as he could, Lt. DiBernardo tied himself to the rope, which broke after he lowered himself just a few feet.
?Joe placed my life before his own,? Firefighter Cool said. ?We speak of the brotherhood at the firehouse, but I saw it first hand that day.?
Lt. DiBernardo is survived by his father, retired FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph G. DiBernardo, and his mother, Barbara.
Chief DiBernardo spoke of his son?s sense of humor and passion for the Fire Department. He said even as a child, Lt. DiBernardo would record the FDNY scanner and use the sound when he played with his toy fire trucks. And, he noted, ?As a kid he would rather go to work with dad than play ball with his friends.?
He said one of his proudest moments as a father was when his son was sworn in as a firefighter. He smiled and said, ?The little boy in a plastic fire helmet grew up to live his dream.?
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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx....94ZoGXLIj2JDnAO
FDNY hero praised at unveiling of 'Black Sunday' plaque
By DAVID SEIFMAN
Last Updated: 6:15 PM, November 20, 2012
Posted: 6:14 PM, November 20, 2012
A former firefighter recounted in heartbreaking detail today how he owes his life to a hero of "Black Sunday," one of the bleakest days in FDNY history.
The occasion was the unveiling of a plaque at Rescue 3 in The Bronx honoring Lt. Joseph DiBernardo, 40, who survived for six pain-filled years after falling 40 feet from a burning Bronx building and breaking every bone below his waist. Two of his fellow firefighters died that fateful day, as did a third in a separate blaze in Brooklyn.
DiBernado's heroism -- he lowered a fellow firefighter from the fourth-floor burning hell before leaving himself -- has been recounted numerous times over the years.
And it was again today in moving tributes by Mayor Bloomberg, Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano and other fire officials.
But only one of the speakers, ex-firefighter Jeff Cool -- the man who probably wouldn't be alive today but for DiBernardo's act of selfishness -- was there.
"I know that you (can) always look to the plaque on the wall to remember Joey's act of bravery and supreme sacrifice," said Cool, choking back tears. "Me, all I have to do is look in the mirror and see myself."
Cool recalled how DiBernardo, who was single, urged him to go first because "you have a wife and kids."
"I think back to that day often and how Joey placed my life before his," Cool said. "The courage he exemplified -- we speak of brotherhood often in the fire service and I witnessed it first hand."
Cool also suffered severe injuries, but recovered. DiBernardo didn't.
His father, retired Asst. Deputy Chief Joseph DiBernardo Sr., recalled how his son became enraptured with firefighting as a young boy and had accumulated so much knowledge about the FDNY by age 11 that he could pass the lieutenant's exam.
Both father and son were among those who rushed to Ground Zero after 9/11.
"The thing I think about every day," said DiBernardo Sr.,"the two of us on the pile, father and son doing what they love to do. How many fathers get to do that?"
At times sad, at times funny, he ended up speaking for more than 20 minutes about the son he had raised to become a life-saver.
"Jeff stands here before you today because that little boy who loved toy fire engines and grew up to drive them, would rather go with his father to work rather than playing ball, the little boy who played with cardboard fire buildings and ended up leaping out of one for his life...grew up to be a hero himself," DiBernardo Sr. told the audience, which spanned generations of firefighters.
Joseph DiBernardo Jr. dedicated his life to serving others, and his family hopes that a new sign bearing his name will continue to do that job.
DiBernardo, a volunteer firefighter with the Setauket Fire Department and a lieutenant with the Fire Department of New York, died last year after a six-year battle with injuries sustained in the line of duty.
On Monday afternoon, one year to the week since DiBernardo?s death, a crowd gathered at the side of Nicholls Road in Setauket -- under the glare of flashing red lights from a Setauket Fire Department truck that DiBernardo helped design -- to dedicate a portion of the busy road to the fallen firefighter.
?Joey did so much for so many,? said DiBernardo?s mother, Barbara, at a gathering following the dedication. ?Now, as people drive down that road, maybe they?ll smile when they think about him, or maybe people who don?t know him will Google him and find out what he did. He?ll be an inspiration forever.
?He?ll be around forever,? she continued, ?and not just for me, but for everyone.?
DiBernardo had always wanted to be a firefighter, said his father, Joseph DiBernardo Sr., 70, of Stony Brook.
?Every little boy wants to follow in their father?s footsteps,? said the retired FDNY chief, who used to bring his son to his station in the South Bronx.
He said DiBernardo co-founded the Brookhaven Technical Rescue Task Force and taught at the Suffolk County Fire Academy as well as at other training schools for firefighters around the world.
In 2005, in an incident known as ?Black Sunday,? DiBernardo responded to a Bronx fire and was trapped with five other firefighters in a five-story building and forced to jump from the window. The impact of the fall broke every bone in his body below the waist, said DiBernardo Sr., and he spent three months in the hospital, partly in a coma and partly undergoing multiple surgeries to reconstruct his legs and feet. Two of the men fighting the blaze with DiBernardo died that day.
DiBernardo recovered, but struggled with physical pain and post-traumatic stress disorder for years, his father said.
Last year, at 40 years old, DiBernardo died of an accidental overdose of his pain medications, his father said.
DiBernardo Sr. said he?s proud of his son?s lifelong commitment, and happy he lived a fulfilling life.
?He loved it,? he said of the job. ?That was the love of his life. He fulfilled his dream.?
Suffolk County Legis. Kara Hahn, who dedicated the portion of Nicholls Road/County Road 97 from Route 347 north to Fox Hunt Lane in Setauket, said she thought it was important to honor someone who gave so much to his community and others.
?County Road 97 runs right in front of the firehouse,? she said. ?Everyone who passes by here every day will think of him and think of his sacrifice.?
Kevin Yoos, commissioner of the Setauket Fire District and a lieutenant for the FDNY, said he knew DiBernardo since he joined the department in 1989. He said DiBernardo was a good friend who pushed him to make a career out of firefighting and join the FDNY.
?He was a person that inspired other people to be the best they could be,? said Yoos, 42, of Stony Brook. ?He had that knack.?
Yoos said DiBernardo?s service to the community was invaluable. In addition to countless hours and training others, DiBernardo also specially designed one of the department?s fire engines to respond to a variety of emergencies that most trucks are not equipped to do, he said.
DiBernardo Sr. said he hopes the sign bearing his son?s name will honor his legacy.
?I?m hoping it brings a smile to my face instead of a tear,? DiBernardo Sr. said. ?But it definitely brings pride. It makes me very, very proud.?
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Continued REST IN PEACE to Joe Jr....PRAYERS FOR THE CONTINUED COMFORT OF HIS FAMILY.
