East Haven Firefighters Praised For Helping Man Before He Died

EAST HAVEN, CT — In an at once poignant, but heartbreaking, letter, a family thanked the East Haven Fire Department for helping to ensure their father's last weeks on earth were spent at home with his family.

"The last two weeks mean so much to us because he was able to live like he had been living. He also died at home, which is what he would have wanted. We also had two extra weeks of memories ..." the letter written to Mayor Joseph A. Carfora reads.

In early August, their father came home after being hospitalized with pneumonia. He could not get up and down the stairs and so was unable to sleep in his own bed. East Haven Fire Department Asst. Chief Charles Licata offered to help get the man up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"He was so happy to be back in his bed. We will always remember how happy he was that night," the letter reads.

Without any other immediate solution, the family said, the fire department over the course of the next few days came by and helped get him up and down stairs until on the fourth day, they helped him manage to walk the stairs on his own.

Two weeks later, he had passed away.

"Our dad had a good couple of weeks, however, the pneumonia had weakened him, and he passed away on Aug. 21. We will always have memories of dad," the letter reads, because of the help from Licata and the East Haven Fire Department.

"We can never thank him and your department enough."