Funeral Plans Announced for Westfield Firefighter Jim Pfeiffer

Funeral arrangements have been set for Westfield firefighter Jim Pfeiffer, who died Sunday following an accident at his Mountainside home.

Pfeiffer's wake will be held on Wednesday at Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home at 582 Springfield Avenue in Westfield. The Pfeiffer family will be receiving visitors from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

The funeral for Pfeiffer is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. James the Apostle Church in Springfield. The church is located at 45 South Springfield Avenue in Springfield. 

Following the funeral, burial will be at Fairview Cemetery on East Broad Street in Westfield. 

Pfeiffer, 30, passed away Sunday evening following a freak accident earlier that day at his Mountainside home. Pfeiffer was working on a tree in his yard when the tree limb fell, knocking the ladder out from under him. He died after being rushed to University Hospital in Newark. 

A 1998 graduate of Cranford High School, Pfeiffer has been a firefighter and EMT in Westfield since 1999. A graduate of Union County College with a degree in fire science, he was a volunteer with the Cranford First Aid Squad during high school.

Pfeiffer was recognized as a heroic firefighter. In August 2005, he received national media attentionafter he used his slender 6' 1", 160 pound frame to rescue a 16-month-old child who had fallen nine feet into a 10-inch wide gap at Tamaques Park.

Pfeiffer is the third member of his high school class to die, the first being Starr Long in September 1997 and the second being Ben Snyder earlier this year. Ironically, Pfeiffer treated Long after she was hit by a car on the Garden State Parkway.

Pfeiffer's death has shocked many in Westfield and Cranford.

"This is a major tragedy," Mayor Andy Skibitsky said. "He was a rising star of the fire department. Our prayers go out for his family. We are looking as a town to see what we can do to help his family out."

The flags at Fire Department headquarters on North Avenue and fire house two on Central Avenue, along with the Municipal Building have been lowered to half-mast in memory of Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer is survived by his wife and one-year-old daughter, along with his parents and younger sister.