STRATHAM, NH—The community is mourning the loss of one of its true heroes following the death of longtime volunteer firefighter and selectman John Sapienza over the weekend.
Sapienza died in his home Saturday after a long battle with cancer. He was 80 years old.
Sapienza was born May 6, 1939, in New York City, son of the late John and Margaret Sapienza.
Sapienza was a retired 21-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department living in Stratham on Sept. 11, 2001. He had been a member of the Stratham Volunteer Fire Department for 14 years at that point.
The day the Twin Towers were attacked, Sapienza was on the phone with his old battalion commander of Engine 22 and Ladder 13 at East 85th Street on the upper east side of Manhattan to see if he could be of any help to his brother firefighters.
Sapienza was in New York City the next day after nine members of his old fire company died assisting with the evacuation efforts when the towers collapsed, three of whom he worked alongside before his retirement. Sapienza would end up personally suffering for taking part in the Twin Towers' rescue efforts as his pancreatic and liver cancer were deemed by the state of New York to be 9/11-related.
During a 2001 interview with Seacoastonline from New York City in the days following the tragedy, Sapienza described how heartbroken he was, just as the rest of the country, watching events unfold from Ground Zero.
"You look at the television and you start crying," Sapienza said back in 2001. "Words can't describe it. The only way I can express it is in tears."
While assisting his fellow firefighters in New York, Sapienza was initially tasked with responding to fires and other emergencies in the city to free up the rest of the company to assist rescue efforts at Ground Zero. By day two of the rescue efforts, Sapienza found himself at Ground Zero in a bucket brigade, according to retired New York City police Sgt. Andra Copeland, who later became Sapienza's neighbor in Stratham.
Copeland said she first met Sapienza after her parents moved to Stratham in 1985 and he moved next door to them a year later. Copeland would go on to serve in NYPD until 2002, when she and her husband, Tim, moved to Stratham. She said they became quite close with Sapienza and his family, so much so they asked him to be the godfather to their daughter.
Copeland said the night of Sept. 13, 2001, she and Sapienza found themselves as part of a bucket brigade assisting in the rubble of the Twin Towers before first responders chaotically were pulled from the site out of fear an adjacent building was at risk of collapse.
"It was astonishing we found each other, considering he lived in New Hampshire and I wasn't in a unit that was assigned to be there," Copeland said. "We were still shell shocked from standing in a 16-acre disaster pile. John lived and breathed being a firefighter; whether it was FDNY or SVFD, it was in his blood."
"The only bit of hesitation for John to go to New York was the time it took him to pack whatever he needed, find a place to stay and gas up his car," Copeland added. "It wasn't a surprise to anyone he'd go to Ground Zero, and a lot of people did the same."
Sapienza, also a veteran of the United States Navy, joined the SVFD shortly after moving to Stratham in 1986 and served as a firefighter in town for 32 years, beginning in 1987, Fire Chief Matt Larrabee said. He was also a member of the Stratham Historical Society.
Larrabe said Sapienza brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to SVFD having been a FDNY "chauffeur," or the firefighter responsible for driving the engine truck to the scene of an emergency.
"John really took the new guys under his wing to teach them how to drive an emergency vehicle and he was able to coach them up on the driver's responsibilities once they arrive on the scene," Larrabee said.
Beyond his prowess as a decorated firefighter, Larrabe said Sapienza rose to the occasion time and time again when someone was in need of help.
"John had the biggest heart and he'd be the first person there to help anyone in the community with anything, whether it was work around the house or in their time of need during an emergency," Larrabe said. "His loss is a tough void to fill but his memory will never be forgotten here."
Stratham Selectmen Chairman Mike Houghton said Sapienza was a "pillar of the community" with respect to his penchant for jumping in with both feet to volunteer for the town as a firefighter, selectman and for his efforts putting on the Stratham Fair.
"We're all deeply saddened and our hearts go out Pat and the rest of his family during this challenging time," Houghton said. "John's commitment to community and volunteerism ran deep and it was personal for him when he involved himself in anything."
Tim Copeland, Andra's husband, said he considers Sapienza a life mentor who helped him fix things around the house and gave him a crash course in local politics, which served him well when he went on to become a selectman and a state representative. He said Sapienza's adopted home of Stratham meant so much to him that scheduling a night out for dinner was nearly impossible because he always wanted to be there if someone in town was having an emergency.
"John was always reluctant to leave town because he was afraid of missing something, a fire call, an ambulance call," Tim Copeland said. "He was Mr. Firehouse because he volunteered so much of his time. He was practically there every day when he was healthy, working on building maintenance and making sure the station was in top shape."
Sapienza is survived by his wife, Patricia Sapienza, his adult children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
According to Sapienza's obituary, a celebration of life will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at the Stockbridge Funeral Home at 141, Epping Road in Exeter. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with his family from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, Sapienza's family is requesting donations be made to the Stratham Historical Society. Sapienza's obituary states he will be buried Maple Lane Cemetery in Stratham in the spring.
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