CAPE MAY COUNTY, N.J. — A fire coordinator died Wednesday night after leaving the scene of a fatal multiple-alarm fire late Tuesday.
Coordinator Arthur “Art” Treon was complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath and was transported to a hospital, where he appeared to be doing better, The Cape May Gazette reported. He later succumbed to his injuries.
“He was sitting up in bed,” Cape May County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Martin Pagliughi said. “He sounded great and looked great. I could see he wanted out. I said I wouldn’t be surprised if they let him out tomorrow.”
Treon was a member of the Town Bank Fire Company since the early 1970s. He served as the fire chief for 10 years and was at one point the president of the fire company, according to the report.
He was a life member of the fire company, the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association, a member of the Lower Township Firemen’s Relief Association and the county firemen’s aid association.
“He was a pillar in the community,” Lower Township manager Mike Voll said. “He was really a stakeholder in Lower Township and he will be really missed.”
Councilman Thomas Conrad described Treon as a humble man.
“Art was unassuming, humble, and if you met him and said, ‘Hey, Art,’ his first words were ‘What do you need?’” Conrad said.
Treon is survived by his wife and two sons. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.