Louis Arena, 32, firefighter who chose dangerous job
Date of Death 9/11/2001
By Diana Yates
Advance staff writer
Sunday, 09/16/2001
From
the time he was a toddler, Louis Arena exhibited the generous
spirit that endeared him to friends and family and ultimately
cost him his life. One day, when he was three years old, his sister,
JoAnn Arena-Eisinger, remembered, she complained that she was
hungry. So "Louie" set out to find her something to
eat.
"He
walked down to the A&P, got a loaf of bread and walked out
with it," she said. No one stopped him, and he brought it
back home for her. That was what her brother was like, she said.
"You
said you needed something. You got it."
Arena
is one of several firefighters from Ladder 5, Manhattan, who disappeared
into the rubble Tuesday while working to save countless others.
His death, which was confirmed yesterday, occurred as he climbed
the stairs in the North Tower of the World Trade Center looking
for anyone who needed help.
"He
was running up the stairs when other people were running down,"
said his wife of six years, Wanda (Reynolds) Arena. "It's
so typical of him. He was always helping people. He was not concerned
about himself."
Arena
was born in Besonhurst, Brooklyn, and his family moved to Heartland
Village when he was four.
He
was a graduate of St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, Huguenot,
and was a parishioner of St. Patrick's R.C. Church, Richmond.
A
firefighter for six years, Arena first served at Ladder 5 before
working out of Ladder 225 in East New York and Engine Company
309 in Brooklyn. He returned to Ladder 5 about two years ago.
"He
was very dedicated to his (fire) house and loved everybody there,"
said Ms. Arena. "It was his second home."
An
Emergency Medical Service technician, Ms. Arena worked a full
shift Tuesday in Manhattan after the disaster, keeping a watchful
eye out for her husband. "I knew he was with such a wonderful
team," she said. "They were smart and they were strong
and I really thought they were going to make it."
Ms.
Arena said her husband was a gourmet cook who also could build
or repair anything. He did countless favors for family and friends,
even scheduling his days off so that he could help others.
He
also loved spending time with his children, Nina, 4, and Joseph,
3.
"He
was very protective of everyone," said Ms. Arena-Eisinger,
"especially his kids."
He
and his wife regularly ran in various memorial races for fallen
firefighters and police.
In
addition to his wife, his sister and his children, surviving are
his parents, Joseph and Jenny Arena; and three brothers, Frank,
Salvatore and Anthony.
The
funeral will be Wednesday from the Casey-McCallum-Rice South Shore
Funeral Home, Great Kills, with a mass at 12:30 p.m. at St. Patrick's
R.C. Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.
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