VAILS GATE – Alec Tannenbaum, a 29-year-old career firefighter with the West Point Fire Department, passed away Tuesday evening. The death is being investigated as a possible “Line of Duty Death.”
Tannenbaum had finished his shift at West Point Tuesday morning and then proceeded to answer calls with the Vails Gate Fire Department, where he served as a volunteer since February 2016.
Chief J.D. Merritt said Tannenbaum spent Tuesday responding to several calls clearing downed trees along with other emergency calls as Tropical Storm Isaias battered the region.
The firefighter was found unresponsive at his home on Tuesday night and transported by New Windsor EMS to Montefiore St. Luke’s-Cornwall Hospital but was unable to be revived.
The chief said Tannenbaum will be remembered for his bright personality.
“Even though he wasn’t the biggest guy in the room, his personality was gigantic, and I
don’t know how we are going to fill that hole,” he said. “He was one of those larger than life people. He would come in the room and start making jokes and get the whole room to loosen up a little bit and was comforting to have. You need that in a firehouse when you are dealing with serious stuff in responding to emergencies, it is nice to have that comic relief and that was what he did and it is hard to imagine him not being there.”
Tannenbaum’s Marine Corps service included two tours in Afghanistan where he received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in combat.
On June 18, 2018, the Marine became a career firefighter with the West Point Fire Department.
