From the New York Times:
Joseph Lovero was the ultimate fire buff. He fell in love with firefighting as a child hanging out at the firehouse a few doors down from his family’s house on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. His brother and friends became firefighters; but a heart problem disqualified Mr. Lovero. So he joined the Jersey City Gong Club [a nonprofit volunteer group that serves food to firefighters and victims] and turned up at every fire, often with the club’s canteen, helping out the firefighters.
Several years ago, the Jersey City Fire Department began hiring civilian dispatchers. Mr. Lovero, who had worked in construction and hoped for a cameo role in “The Sopranos,” got one of the jobs. On Tuesday, just after Mr. Lovero completed a shift as a civilian fire dispatcher in Jersey City, he rushed to the site of the World Trade Center attack and did not return. He was 60.
