Today we remember FF Jeffrey Stark, age 30, Engine 230.
On September 11th, the firefighters of Engine Co. 230 of the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn would be called to their finest hour.
FF Jeff Stark and his crew had just returned from another call when someone yelled out to turn on the TV. They saw what everyone in the nation was watching – a tower on fire. They ran to the roof to see how bad it was when the call came in to respond.
The crew mounted Engine 230 and headed for the bridges over to Manhattan. They had to take alternate routes because roads were being shut down quickly.
FF Johnny Guarino stayed with the Engine as the other firemen headed towards the towers. A police officer asked Guarino to move his engine up because other crews were arriving. He moved about two blocks up and then the towers fell. His crew was gone.
Five firefighters from Engine Co. 230 would not return, including Jeff Stark. Like all who are missing, Jeff had plans and aspirations that will go unfulfilled.
When he graduated from the Fire Academy in May 1999, Mr. Stark joined his two brothers, John and Joseph, as a proud member of the New York City Fire Department.
Jeff was an outdoorsman who loved hunting and fly fishing, and was an avid reader. "He was a very lighthearted, even-tempered, happy young man who was on the brink of entering his adulthood with a lot of positive plans," said his sister, Therese Stark. "He was proud to be part of the Fire Department. It was a job that he took great pride in."
We Will Never Forget!
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