A touching tribute to fallen firefighter

Monroe Township fire officials last week honored the late New York City firefighter Alan D. Feinberg for his heroism, and officially welcomed his widow, Wendy Feinberg Kotula, into the community.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Below: Tara Feinberg (r) holds a plaque presented to her in memory of her father, Alan D. Feinberg, at the Monroe Township Fire District No. 3 firehouse on Centre Drive on July 30 as her mother, Wendy, looks on. The department dedicated a fire truck to Feinberg, who was among the 343 New York City firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center. Above: Tara Feinberg and her mother, a Monroe resident, unveil the truck's new decal. On July 30, Monroe's Fire District No. 3, located on Centre Drive, dedicated one of its trucks to Feinberg, who was one of the 343 firefighters killed in the line of duty at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The apparatus now has an emblem on it that commemorates Feinberg. The district covers about a third of the township.

"He was very outgoing and bubbly. He was proud to be a fireman," Wendy Feinberg-Kotula said of her late husband. "It's something he always wanted to do from the time he was a little boy."

Feinberg-Kotula moved from Marlboro to the Regency at Monroe, Route 522, in January 2007. Soon thereafter, she met Joel Kaplan, a fire commissioner of Fire District No. 3, who was wearing an FDNY shirt. She told Kaplan about Feinberg, his heroism and his 19 years of dedication to the New York department. Feinberg spent 18 years at Engine 40, Ladder 35 and then just over a year as battalion chief aide at Engine Co. 54, Ladder 4.

At 48, he was just five months short of being eligible for retirement when he died.

Kaplan said he met Feinberg-Kotula while he was playing bocce one day, and was touched by the story.

"At that point I knew I was determined to do this," he said of the truck dedication.

Kaplan did some research and learned that, while Monroe did have civilian casualties in the terrorist attacks, Feinberg- Kotula was the only 9/11 fireman's widow residing in the township. "There's no one else," he said.

PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Left: Monroe Township Fire District No. 3 Chief Pete Gasiorowski reads a proclamation as a fire apparatus is dedicated in the memory of New York City firefighter Alan D. Feinberg, who was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center. Feinberg's daughter, Tara, and wife Wendy were present for the July 30 ceremony. Right: Wendy Feinberg-Kotula receives a hug from Stacy Mosesman following the dedication. Kaplan's efforts went a long way to making Feinberg-Kotula feel welcome in her new hometown.

"At first they were strangers," she said of the District 3 firefighters. "Now they're like family." It's a sentiment Kaplan expressed as well.

Feinberg-Kotula said the dedication helped her realize that even though the years pass, Sept. 11 is still an event that deeply affects people — and it is something that she's still trying to come to terms with.

"In one moment, someone's hatred can affect so many lives," she said. "That day was such a tragic day."

While the dedication may have been bittersweet for Feinberg-Kotula, it was also very special.

"I was very, very honored," she said. "It was just the most unbelievable feeling in my heart."

Feinberg-Kotula spoke at the dedication, as didMayor Richard Pucci andManny Silverman of the Ner Tamid Society, a fraternal organization for Jewish firefighters, to which Feinberg belonged. Kaplan said the mayor's words were very moving.

"It seemed like when the mayor made the speech, he gave her the key to the city," Kaplan said of Feinberg-Kotula.

Nearly 100 people were in attendance, foremost among them Feinberg-Kotula and her 26-year-old daughter Tara. Her son Michael, 23, was unable to attend. Also in attendance were other members of Fire District No. 3, Monroe Township Council members Gerald W. Tamburro and Leslie Koppel-Egierd, and Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton.

"It was very touching," Kaplan said of the ceremony. "There were a lot of tears."

Feinberg-Kotula, who has since remarried, stressed that her late husband died doing what firefighters do all the time — respond to crises — and as such, she has nothing but praise and respect for the work they do.

"That day was just tragic, but firemen do that every day," she said. "Sadly, that day, 343 firemen gave it their all. You can't change what happened, but you can change the way you think about it."