The Tunnel to Towers Foundation will provide the family of fallen Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno with a mortgage-free home, the organization announced Thursday.
Arno, 37, a three-year member of the Buffalo Fire Department, was killed in the line of duty while battling a 4-alarm fire on March 1. He left behind his wife, Sarah, and their daughter, Olivia. He was laid to rest on March 10.
"Firefighters like Jason Arno are different. When everyone else was running to safety, he ran into the flames to help fight this fire," said Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. "In honor of his sacrifice and his service to his city, I promise that Sarah and Olivia will always have a place to call home."
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Home Program pays off the mortgages or provides a mortgage-free home for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty, pass away from 9/11-related illnesses, and leave behind young children.
Emergency demolition of the building that caught fire on March 1 are currently underway. The demolition process is expected to last at least two weeks.