The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Chief Engineer/Firefighter Pasquale “Pepper” Di Benedetto, 68, of the Englishtown Fire Department on August 2, 2018.
On July 30, 2018, Chief Engineer/Firefighter DiBenedetto responded from his home to the firehouse for an activated CO alarm call. An in-station crew and the chief responded to investigate and found it due to a faulty battery. DiBenedetto stood-by in-station for additional calls and to place the apparatus back into service. Upon completion, he then returned home. The next morning, DiBenedetto complained that he wasn’t feeling well and had a friend transport him to a local hospital. He suffered a massive stroke while en route, and required immediate surgery upon arrival. Life-saving measures were unsuccessful and he passed away in the hospital on August 2, 2018.
Tribute is being paid to Chief Engineer/Firefighter DeBenedetto at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/
To date, 59 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018. Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html
Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.
