'Selfless:' LBI Firefighter, 29, Dies After Battle With Illness

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Brooke Amsterdam-Hacker was always the first to help when needed, according to the Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Company. She served Beach Haven from 2010-14 and "was truly a spark of light on the darkest day," according to the fire department.

Amsterdam-Hacker, 29, died Wednesday. She had been hospitalized and diagnosed with necrosis of the pancreas, according to a GoFundMe supporting her family. GoFundMe organizer Angelina Vaughan-Whited said Amsterdam-Hacker "made an impact on so many of our lives with her selflessness."

"Heaven just gained a beautiful angel," the online fundraiser says. "We’re all still so dumbfounded and grieving. Please pray for all of us in this time as we have all lost a major part of us."

The BHVFC called Amsterdam-Hacker "an amazing young woman who was taken from this world too soon."

"Brooke was never afraid to get her hands dirty, was always the first to help out when she was needed, and was always someone you could rely on," the BHVFC wrote on Facebook. "She was truly a spark of light on the darkest day and will be missed by all of us."

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Company — 100 S Bay Ave, Beach Haven, NJ 08008, or online at www.beachhavenfire.com.

Click here for her obituary.

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