Daniel Libretti, 43, FDNY, excelled at his job and cooking - By Chan-joo Moon Advance staff writer Sunday, 10/14/2001

Firefighter Daniel Libretti, 43, of Eltingville, was always looking for something to keep him busy. He was constantly in motion at home and in his career. When he wasn't on duty in Brooklyn's Rescue 2, he was an assistant pastry chef in La Caravelle, an upscale French restaurant in Manhattan, or working as a private contractor. "He's a man that never sits still for a moment," said his wife, the former Dolores Errico. His friends remembered that aspect of Mr. Libretti in putting a humorous touch to his memory. "The joke is, 'I wonder what career he's up to in heaven?'" she said. "His passion was the Fire Department." Mr. Libretti was a member of the Fire Department for 19 years. He began his career in Ladder 1 and Engine 7 in Manhattan and for 15 years was a member of Ladder 103 in East New York, Brooklyn. Since 1999, he was a member of Brooklyn's elite Rescue 2. On Sept. 11, eight members of Rescue 2 rushed to the World Trade Center and ran up the stairwells of Tower 1 to help fellow firefighters. Rescue companies have the responsibility of making sure that other firefighters are safe. Five of the members of Rescue 2, including Mr. Libretti, were discovered Tuesday in what is believed to have been the area near the 60th floor. The first firefighters to have responded to the World Trade Center are believed to have been higher than the 60th floor. "Our company was still going up the stairs. They were probably seeing what kind of trouble they were in," said Peter Romeo, of Westerleigh, a fellow Rescue 2 member who was not on duty that day. "We knew there were firefighters in trouble up there and we were coming to get them." Mr. Libretti had an expertise in building collapses and specialized in high angle and confined space rescues. He was a rescue diver for Rescue 2. "You always wanted him around," said Mr. Romeo, who knew Mr. Libretti for 17 years. Mrs. Libretti last saw her husband on Monday morning, when she made a cup of coffee for him, gave him a kiss and left for her job as a business manager in Bates USA, a Midtown advertising agency. They spoke during the day about a pond that he was building in the backyard of their home. In the evening, he cooked a meal for Billy Lake, a fellow Rescue 2 member in the Crown Heights stationhouse. Mr. Lake's funeral was yesterday. On Tuesday morning, Mrs. Libretti saw the collapse of the Twin Towers from a television in her office. "When they collapsed, I knew he was definitely inside them," she said. He was confirmed to be missing at about 7 that night. Mrs. Libretti said she found some comfort in being able to hold a funeral. "It was a relief. I'm just happy I could bury him in the right way," she said. Mr. Libretti was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. In the mid-1990s, he graduated from the New York Restaurant School. He and his wife came to Eltingville in 1985 when they purchased their one-family, colonial home. Mr. Libretti used his culinary expertise to create specialty dishes for his fellow firefighters. "He cooked us meals we couldn't afford on the outside. We couldn't even name them. It was unbelievable," Mr. Romeo said. Mr. Libretti enjoyed playing golf and dining in fine restaurants. He was a parishioner of St. Clare's R.C. Church, Great Kills. Surviving in addition to his wife, Dolores, is his father, Frank; two brothers, Joseph and Frank, and a sister, Maureen Gambino. The funeral will be Tuesday from the Colonial Funeral Home, New Dorp, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Charles R.C. Church, Oakwood.

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