Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The miniature toy fire trucks laying in front of a growing forest of flowers at the entrance of Buffalo Fire Engine No. 2 says it all.
A community is mourning the loss of firefighter Jason Arno, who was killed battling flames in the ferocious 4 alarm fire at 745 Main Street last week.
Some are bringing flowers to the fire house. Some are passing by and honking horns as a symbol of respect. And many are stopping for a photo of the dramatic black and purple bunting that hangs across the giant green and red garage door to the station at South Elmwood and Virginia Streets.
Arno and his fellow firefighters from No. 2 were among the first on scene at the massive blaze that is now under investigation by the Buffalo Fire Department and a specialized unit of the ATF.
Directly across the street from No.2 is the Adult Learning Center where career adviser Diana Chutko and her helper Marta Kowten were quietly decorating their sign with the same black and purple bunting as a sign of mourning and respect for their neighbors.
"We watched the fire," Chutko recalled when I asked about Wednesday's tragedy. "We watched the black smoke through our windows and we saw the fire. And then when we found out that one of our neighbors perished in it, a calm went throughout the whole building and we’ve been devastated ever since."
Chutko's window is perched directly across the street from the Engine No. 2 door. "They’re everyday heroes," she said as she told me she's often seen the truck racing out of the fire house, headed to the scene of a fire. "They're here to help us."
As we spoke, others were stopping to see the fire house and pay respects and Chutko said it had been a constant stream of visitors since Arno's identity was released following the fire.
Chutko and her colleagues will be parking across the street at another facility this week when they head back to work. "We’re letting all the firefighters use our parking," she said. "The parking lot is full today."
The flowers are being collected in a covered vestibule tucked along the left side of the sprawling fire house that contains Engine No. 2.
The community is responding with donations to the family of Arno as well. The Buffalo Professional Firefighters Local 282 is collecting donations as well as two gofundme pages that are linked in the related article below.
Related
The wake for Arno is scheduled for Thursday from 2pm to 8pm at Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Avenue at West Ferry and the funeral is set for Friday at 10am at St. Joseph's Cathedral in downtown Buffalo.
Related
