Candles and a photo are placed on the grave of Matthew Porcari, OFD Captain, who passed away five years ago while in the line of duty.
Family, friends and fellow firefighters gathered at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Owego, N.Y. on Sunday evening, Jan. 21 to honor and remember Matthew Porcari. A volunteer captain of the Owego Fire Department’s Croton Hose Company #3, home of the “Flat Rats,” lost his life in the line of duty on Jan. 22, 2013 while battling a mutual aid structure fire in Newark Valley.
As you pass through the cemetery’s left side entrance, Porcari’s grave, just a few rows in from Route 17C, rests behind his father, John, a U.S. Navy veteran who passed away in 2000.
About 30 people walked through the snowy cemetery to gather for the annual tribute to the fallen hero. The temperature for this January gathering, most participants said, was much warmer than past years, although they always attend regardless of weather conditions.
Porcari’s mother, Cheri, said that other friends had visited during the day.
Candles were passed out, and four lantern balloons were released into the night skies. Participants watched as they peacefully floated away.
Porcari grew up just three doors down from Owego Station #3, and later moved into a home nearby. He is remembered as always being one of the first to arrive at the station for an emergency call.
Pictured is the sign at St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Family, friends and fellow firefighters gathered on the evening of Jan. 21 to remember OFD Captain, Matthew Porcari.
Following in the footsteps of his father, John, his grandfather, Pete, and his uncle, Lester Dunham, Matt Porcari started his firefighter career at age 16 as an apprentice. A firefighter for half of his life, as well as a skilled and award-winning firematic hose racer, Porcari is also remembered for going above-and-beyond when it came to helping others in need.
One such volunteer effort in 2012 took Porcari and a crew to Long Island to assist during a weeklong mutual aid detail following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Porcari’s name has since been added to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial located in Albany, which honors the memory and valor of fallen firefighters.
At the candlelight vigil, Porcari’s friends and family also remembered him by encircling his grave, and then played and sang along to the Don McLean classic, “American Pie.”
And, referring to the first verse of McLean’s lyrics, it seemed the music helped make them smile and dance, and allowed them to be happy, too, at least for a while.
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