21-Year-Old Firefighter Recruit Dies After Training In Morris Co.

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - A 21-year-old firefighter recruit from Irvington died days after collapsing during a training exercise in Morris County, according to officials.

Victor Melillo was a recruit for the Irvington Fire Department who was participating in a training exercise in the parking lot of the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy off Hanover Avenue in Parsippany Township when he collapsed shortly after 9:30 a.m. on March 4, officials said.

Several first responders were on the scene, including EMTs, and quickly attended to Melillo, and he was taken by the Morris County Office of Emergency Management’s Emergency Medical Services Team and paramedics from Atlantic Ambulance to Morristown Medical Center, officials said.

Melillo remained in the Critical Care Unit until he passed away Tuesday.

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners and the staff at Morris County expressed condolences and their deepest sympathies today to the Irvington Fire Department and especially the family of Melillo on social media.

Melillo was a recruit with the FMBA Local 14.

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