PHOTOS & VIDEO: [UPDATED 11:50 PM] Stanley Marks and Alex Latyshev, two heroes who gave their lives to save the lives of others, were honored this evening by the Township.
Dozens of firefighters and family members of the two men filled the Municipal Auditorium where a somber ceremony was held to memorialize the heroes of Junior Hose Company No. 3 who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The two men responded to a working fire at the Hotel Allaben on Monmouth Avenue, and shortly after they entered the burning building, a flash-over occurred, trapping them inside.
Firefighter Stanley Marks’ body was found the next morning on the first floor just below the area of flash-over, according to Lakewood Fire Department’s Historian Richard Errickson. Marks had fallen through the burned away floor above.
Firefighter Latyshev was able to get to a small second floor window and was pulled down a ladder to safety. He was rushed to the hospital, but succumbed to his burns several weeks later.
After a moving opening speech by Fire Chief Rodney Youmans this evening, memorial plaques of the two men were unveiled, as family members and colleagues of that fateful night, looked on. The plaques will be placed in the Township lobby.
(Photos and video will be added soon).
What a moving event. Thanx chief, and fire men of past and present…you guys are the real heroes! G-d bless you and your families. Thank you Lakewood Township fot this everlasting tribute.
Thank you mendy and may you and your family be blessed also.
That day I will never forget, nor will I forget how hard it was to give a Firemans Service for my two fallen Comrads. Stan was a relative of mine. May their family’s be at Peace.
Ex Capt. FD #1 and Ex. Department Chaplain
I may be gone from Lakewood but your all still in my Heart.
Thank you to all the Lakewood Fire Fighters for all your hard work and dedication!!! Words can not thank you enough!
I worked with Stanley at JCP&L’s Pt Pleasant Line Dept, and attended his wake. It was extremely upsetting to think of the pain his family must have been going through, and to experience the shock of his loss. I still think of him fondly today. What would our communities do without those who can overcome that flight response in a crisis situation? Instead, they opt to tread a path into danger and uncertainty to protect others. No amount of “thank yous” will suffice to express my gratitude to those who repeatedly put their lives on the line for the rest of us.