The volunteer firefighter who died while battling a four-alarm fire at a borough business on Sunday suffered a fatal heart attack, authorities said.
Robert Meyer, 54, was pronounced dead at Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel at 7:17 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
“The Bayshore community and Monmouth County residents are mourning the loss of a man who volunteered his time to help those in need. His death is a selfless act that illustrates his dedication to his community,” Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc LeMieux said in a statement.
Four other firefighters were also taken to the hospital as a precaution, prosecutors said.
In 2005, the
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission awarded Meyer a medal for helping a state trooper pull a man from a burning tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike in East Brunswick.
While the prosecutor’s office did not release the name until Monday morning, the identity of the fallen firefighter spread quickly on social media Sunday night.
The Belford Engine Company in Middletown said on its
Facebook page that Meyer was a life member there.
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"There are no words to say other than Bob was one of the good ones who done a lot for Station 3. You will so be missed my brother and may God see you home. Until we meet again my friend," the post said.
Several fire departments also expressed their condolences on social media.
The Asbury Park Fire Department posted Sunday on
Facebook, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Union Beach Fire Department who suffered a Line of Duty Death this afternoon at a multiple alarm fire."
The building that caught fire houses Hydrair, a company that produces hydraulic equipment.
The prosecutor's office said the cause of the blaze remained under investigation.
