The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) is set to host the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend on May 4-5. This year, the ceremony will honor 89 firefighters who perished in 2023 and 137 from previous years, totaling 226 fallen heroes. The memorial, held at the National Emergency Training Center, will include tributes to six New Jersey firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Among the honorees are Captain Augusto Acabou and Captain Wayne Brooks Jr. of the Newark Fire Department, who died in a fire on July 5, 2023, aboard the Grande Costa D’Avorio Cargo Ship. Firefighter Anthony “Tony” Duivenvoorde of the Sussex Fire Department passed away from a heart attack on April 12, 2023, after responding to multiple emergency calls.