Thousands paid respect to a Long Island firefighter killed in the line of duty at a wake in Inwood Tuesday.
Joseph Sanford Jr., a 17-year veteran of the Inwood Fire Department died last week after suffering cardiac arrest while fighting a blaze in Woodmere Dec. 19.
A sea of firefighters in uniform made their way down Wanser Avenue to Our Lady of Good Counsel Church for calling hours. Mourners remembered the 43-year-old Sanford as a great friend, a family man and a dedicated firefighter.
"He loved to fight fire, and I don't think he would want to go out another way," said former Inwood fire chief Richard Magliaro.
Magliaro said of the remarkable turnout of firefighters at the wake, "This is what happens when someone makes the ultimate sacrifice. This was a fellow brother."
Sanford's funeral will be held Wednesday morning at the same church.
Officials believe the first floor of the house in Woodmere collapsed while Sanford was inside, causing him to fall to the basement.
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He was found after an alert device signaled to his fellow firefighters that he was down. The alert, known as a PASS alarm, is activated when a firefighter has been motionless for too long.
He was resuscitated with CPR and rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
He never regained consciousness after the fire, said Inwood Fire Chief Anthony Rivelli. Sanford was taken off a ventilator at North Shore University Hospital Tuesday and died.
