Fellow EMT's Express Support for Fallen River Edge Member

RIVER EDGE -- On Sunday, River Edge resident and member died of an apparent heart attack after responding to the Corp building on Continental Avenue.

And already there has been an outpouring of support on the River Edge Volunteer Ambulance Corps Facebook page. REVAS first announced the news of Pellettere's death 12-hours ago on their Facebook page.

Since then other area EMT volunteer's have posted their sympathies on the Facebook page including members from the Moonachie First Aid & Rescue Squad, the Washington Emergency Squad, Little Ferry First Aid Corps, Fairview Emergency Response Unit and the Paramus Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

"It's a terrible thing, just a couple more seconds and he might have been with the rest of the guys," borough firefighter and former councilman Tom Smith said in a phone interview. "Who knows, sometimes it's just the way things go, but it's terrible for a young man at 37."

The 37-year-old probationary member arrived at the building to head out with other REVAS members for an emergency call early Sunday morning but never made it on the ambulance.

A full crew of REVAS members had left prior to his arrival and upon returning later found Pellettere unresponsive in the driveway of the building. CPR was performed and he was transported to HUMC where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

"There is just no way of knowing," REVAS Captain Joseph Zemaites said. "It was something internal." 

Residents who join REVAS must supply a letter from their doctor supporting their joining the squad and go through training at the Bergen County EMS Training Center in Paramus and register with the NJ State Department of Health LMS website.

According to the Bergen County EMS Training Center, potential EMT's must be able to perform at the physical and mental requirements as stipulated in the Functional Position Description for the Emergency Medical Technician; be able to hear, read, write, communicate, and interpret instructions in the English language; and be in good physical condition and be able to lift.

An exact cause of death has not yet been determined, according to the Bergen County Medical Examiner's Office.

Services for Pellettere are being handled by the in River Edge.