Firefighter
Vincent Morello
Ladder 35
[Assigned to E-283]
Memorial
Service was held on
November 2, 2001.
Vincent
Morello spent 12 years as a fire department mechanic, but he wanted
more. That's why he became a firefighter with Engine 283 in Brownsville
and then Ladder 35 in Manhattan a year and a half ago.
"He wanted to be a fireman, plain and simple," said
his brother Marc Morello, a firefighter with Ladder 147 in Brooklyn.
"He didn't want to spend the rest of his life under fire
trucks fixing them-he wanted to be riding them." Vincent
Morello took a $40,000 pay cut when he switched from mechanic
to firefighter, but he "absolutely loved" his new job,
Marc Morello said. His very first night as a firefighter, his
entire unit received a citation for its work putting out a fire,
he said.
Marc Morello said it is believed that his brother was searching
for civilians in the World Trade Center when it collapsed. Vincent
Morello, of Middle Village, graduated McClancy High School in
1985 and attended St. John's University for one year. He loved
playing softball and was an avid Rangers fan. He has a wife, Debi;
a son, Justin, 7, and a daughter, Paige, 5. His parents, John,
a retired fire chief and 33-year veteran, and Patricia, are also
from Middle Village.
