Eatontown mourns former fire chief
Alex N. Gecan, @GeeksterTweets 3:59 p.m. EDT July 13, 2016
EATONTOWN - Just hours before his death early Monday morning, Richard Zadorozny was still rushing to emergency calls with his fellow firefighters. That came as no surprise to his colleagues at the Eatontown Fire Department, where he had fought fires for 48 of his 66 years.
"He was pretty much our driver," said Assistant Chief Tanner Shea. "His percentage was through the roof. He made close to 90 percent of all calls every year."
In an all-volunteer department, most of the firefighters make around half of all calls, said Shea.
On Sunday evening, Zadorozny and other firefighters responded to a report of a smell of natural gas on Wyckoff Road, according to Monmouth County Fire Marshal Kevin Stout. Hours later, around 2 a.m., emergency services responded to a call at Zadorozny's home, where he passed away.
Zadorozny's cause of death was not immediately available from county officials, though there is no criminal investigation or evidence of foul play. It is being investigated as a line-of-duty death.
A preliminary report available on the U.S. Fire Administration's website listed the probable cause of death as a heart attack from stress or overexertion.
"There's a national standard for line-of-duty deaths for any emergency service personnel, and in this case, for the fire service," said Stout. "Any fire member who has responded to a fire call and has passed away within 24 hours of that call, that application can be made ... for line-of-duty death benefits."
Zadorozny worked in Bound Brook for 30 years at Avaya Inc., a telecommunications company, according to his obituary. He was chief in Eatontown in 1983 and also worked on the Eatontown First Aid Squad.
At the time of his death he was the fire department's chief engineer with a reputation for knowing the equipment inside and out, and for passing on his knowledge to new firefighters.
"He never slowed down. He took many a young firefighter under his wing and taught them what the needed to know," the fire department posted to Facebook on Monday. He "had a calm demeanor and was our go-to guy when we needed answers."
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Shea, who is also a patrolman with the Red Bank Police Department, was at work when he got the news that Zadorozny had died.
"I literally just sat there, staring at my phone, thinking, 'How could this be?'" he said.
Firefighters know the dangers of the job from the get-go, Shea said, but news like this still hits home.
"We move on because we have to," Shea said, but "we still think about it, whether it's a day or a week later, it's still there."
He said that, if he could speak to Zadorozny, he would thank him - "for everything he's done for the town, the department, myself, fellow members, fellow firefighters. He taught everyone."
Visitation for Zadorozny begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Bongarzone Funeral Home at 2400 Shafto Road in Tinton Falls with a firemen's service at 7 p.m. and a funeral service at 10:30 a.m. Friday, according to his obituary, and "In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to: the Eatontown Fire Department, 47 Broad St., Eatontown."