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Community Corner

Locals Honor Fallen Fireman With Annual 5K and Fun Run

The event was held in memory of John Bellew, a former Pearl River resident and FDNY firefighter who was killed on "Black Sunday" in January 2005.

Dan Coleman got the the Seventh Annual Lt. John G. Bellew Memorial 5K and Kids Fun Run at Pearl River Hook and Ladder started.

“God bless the Bellew family, God bless America, and God bless the FDNY!”

The run honors Bellew, a former FDNY firefighter and Pearl River resident who was killed in the line of duty on “Black Sunday” in 2005, and serves to raise money and awareness for the John Bellew Memorial Fund.

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“It’s not a huge money-making thing,” said Eileen Bellew, John’s widow, of the event. “This is our event to give back to the community. […] It’s our way to thank them because they were so supportive of us when our tragedy happened, so it’s our way to kind of celebrate John and to give a nice day to the community, and it brings everybody together for the day to enjoy and have a good time.”

The run is a fitting tribute to Bellew, as he used to run 5Ks and even ran the New York City Marathon with Eileen in 1999. His birthday was on April 15, so the event is normally held on the Saturday nearest that date.

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Bellew was working on Engine 46, Ladder Company 27 in the Bronx on January 23, 2005 when he and five other firefighters working on the fourth floor of an apartment building became trapped by the blaze and had to jump out to try to survive. Bellew and one of the other firefighters were killed on that day, and the other four were seriously wounded. The apartment the firefighters were in had been illegally subdivided, blocking the men inside from reaching the fire escape. The date is called “Black Sunday” because it was the deadliest day for the Fire Department since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, as a third firefighter was killed in a separate fire in Brooklyn.

The John Bellew Memorial Fund started out as a scholarship for children of FDNY members. Each year it gives two scholarships to students from Pearl River High School and two to students from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, Bellew’s alma mater. In recent years the fund has also given money to families of NYPD and FDNY members who died while not in the line of duty.

“One of the thing we found out is the Fire Department does a very good job of taking care of firemen when they die in the line of duty, but the ones who don’t, don’t get all the benefits,” said Bill Voigt, Director of the Fund and Bellew’s brother-in-law. “They really don’t get a lot of the things that they need, so we try to give them money to help them out.”

Voight estimated that since the fund was established it has raised around $200,000 and gives out between $5,000 and $10,000 a year in scholarships. Its other big event is a golf outing in June that is the primary fundraiser for the organization.

Many members of the FDNY came with their families to participate in the run. Daniel Sheridan from Mahopac is currently a chief for Division 6 and worked for the same division as Bellew before he died. He came to the event with his daughter to show support for the Bellew family.

“It’s nice to support the family and let his wife know that we still care about her and her family,” Sheridan said.

The event featured a children’s race around the field outside of the firehouse followed by the 5K itself. The children also could get their faces painted and listen to music, and the families also were provided with barbecue after the race. In fact the Bellew children were actually involved in the race, helping out at the three water stations along the path.

“They [my kids] look forward to this sometimes even more than Christmas because this is their day,” Eileen Bellew said. “This is their day to celebrate their dad’s life. […] I’ve never tried to bring them up in that kind of a way [where others feel sorry for them], so this is more of a celebration of their dad as opposed to feeling bad for them.”

Bellew also pointed out that she wanted to make sure this race was kid-friendly so that entire families could participate.

“When we started it we really wanted to do it to give back to the community, so we wanted to make sure that we made it more family-oriented,” she said.

Indeed the majority of the over 600 runners were Pearl River residents supporting one of their own.  In fact Eileen Bellew, a former science teacher at Pearl River Middle School, said several of her former students came to the event to show their support. One of these was Michael McCafferty, one member of a team of 12 that participates in the Ragnar Relay, a 200-mile overnight relay race from Bethel to Westchester County. Four of his team members  participated in the 5K to help prepare for the relay, and all four finished in the top five.

“This has become even more of a Pearl River race,” said Coleman, one of the race organizers. “The people of Pearl River have really embraced this race and made it their own. We get hundreds of people here every year just to remember John Bellew, to run the race and have a good time. He’s looking down and he’s  proud of this race right here.”

Editor's note: Photos taken by Carol Dyer. Check back with Pearl River Patch Thursday to see a larger gallery of Dyer's pictures from this event.

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