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Arrangements for ex-Chief Bruce Turcotte, Hopelawn Engine Company #1

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Photo by Keith Addie, www.njfiregroundphotos.com.

Previous coverage here & here

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Funeral Arrangements for Ex-Chief Bruce Turcotte of the Hopelawn (NJ) Engine Company #1:

Wake Service's will be held on Monday, 1/23 from 1900 hours till 2100 hours and Tuesday , 01/24 from 1400-1600 hours and 1900 till 2100 hours with a Firefighter Wake Service to be held  @ 1930 hours at the Mitruska Funeral Home, 531 New Brunswick Avenue, Fords, NJ, 08863 followed by a funeral mass on Wednesday morning, 01/25, at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church, 26 Maple Avenue, Edison, NJ, 08837 at 1000 hours.

Visiting Fire Departments are asked to park their vehicles at the Fortunoff's wing of Woodbridge Center Mall, Route 9 South, Woodbridge, NJ, 07095 for shuttle service to the staging area at the St. Johns First Aid Squad building parking lot beginning at 0900 hours. Companies are asked to provide anticipated headcount, if possible, by RSVP to hecofficers@aol.com .

Lodging is available at the Hampton Inn Woodbridge, 370 Route 9 North, Woodbridge, NJ, 07095, (732) 855-6900. Mention "Hopelawn Fire" at time of reservation.

Further information regarding the wake and funeral can be obtained by contacting Captain Joseph Heintjes, Public Information Officer, at joe.heintjes5@gmail.com .

Posted by on January 21, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Neighbor discovered downed firefighter in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Hopelawn VFD’s Bruce Turcotte found slumped behind wheel. Son was also at house fire.

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Photo by Keith Addie, www.njfiregroundphotos.com.

Read entire Woodbridge Patch article about FF Bruce Turcotte

Read entire Star Ledger article about FF Bruce Turcotte

Previous coverage of the fire

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Krista Sweeney had rushed backed to her home yesterday afternoon after hearing about a fire in the neighborhood. Deborah Bell at the Woodbridge Patch reports that as Sweeney was walking up Jefferson Street she passed a fire engine and saw what she at first thought was a mannequin behind the wheel.

Looking a little closer, she realized it was actually a man in the driver's seat. It turned out to be Bruce Turcotte, a former chief of the Hopelawn VFD. According to Bell's article Sweeney alerted firefighters on the scene:

The firemen looked at one another and in seconds, they had located Turcotte, dragged his body from the cab of the fire engine, and were furiously working to revive him.

"They didn't know [that he was injured.] You couldn't see him from where they were fighting the fire. The ambulance blocked it. You had to be where I was," she said, as she was walking towards her house to see Turcotte's unconscious body in the fire truck.

The Star-Ledger reports that Bruce Turcotte's son Brian, also a Hopelawn firefighter, was on the call:

Turcotte, a former chief of Hopelawn Engine Company No. 1, excelled to the end, said Brian Turcotte, the fallen man’s son and a firefighter himself with Hopelawn.

The younger Turcotte was there Thursday for his father’s final mission, a fatal residential fire on Jefferson Street in the Menlo Park Terrace section of the township.

Turcotte went into cardiac arrest after Hopelawn’s Rapid Intervention Crew arrived at the scene, according to his son and a statement from fire Capt. Joseph Heintjes. According to Heintjes, the elder Turcotte was assisting in stretching hoses so the engine company crews could advance to the building.

A short time later, he was discovered unresponsive behind the wheel of the truck.

In addition to Firefighter Turcotte's death, a man was found dead in the basement of the burning home. Woodbridge's mayor told The Star Ledger the same home had a fatal fire in the 1970s.

Posted by on January 20, 2012 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hopelawn VFD Firefighter Bruce Turcotte dies at Woodridge, NJ house fire. Collapses while stretching hose. Civilian found dead in home.

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The Star-Ledger's coverage can be found at NJ.com.

Photos from the fire by Noak K. Murray, The Star-Ledger

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From NJ.com:

Volunteer fireman Bruce Turcotte, of Hopelawn Volunteer Fire Department in Woodbridge, suffered the heart attack while helping to extinguish a fire at 33 Jefferson Street in the Menlo Park Terrace section of the township this afternoon.

Turcotte later died at JFK Medical Center in Edison, according to Woodbridge mayor John McCormac. He was 58.

“Bruce was an outstanding fire fighter and public servant,” McCormac said. “He loved the fire company. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” 

Firefighter Bruce Turcotte. Photo by Keith Addie, www.njfiregroundphotos.com.

From WNBC-TV:

Firefighters were called to 33 Jefferson St. at about 1:20 p.m., according to Woodbridge Township spokesman John Haggarty.

They were told a person was unaccounted for, and went into the home to retrieve the missing man. Firefighters found the deceased male victim in the basement, said Haggarty. He has not been identified.

A lifelong firefighter with the Hopelawn Fire Department was laying a hose outside when he suffered a heart attack, according to Haggarty.

Posted by on January 19, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Fires, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,