Hero FDNY firefighter who saved daughter at NJ beach laid to rest

🔴 Mark Batista drowned at Avon-by-the-Sea rescuing his daughter from a rip current

🔴 Hundreds paid their respects at a Fair Lawn funeral home Friday

The firefighter who lost his life saving his daughter from a rip current was laid to rest on Friday.

Mark Batista, 39, of Teaneck, ran into the ocean off Sylvania Avenue in Avon-by-the-Sea when his 15-year-old daughter got caught in a rip current.

A week later family, friends and fellow firefighters joined the 15-year veteran's wife and three children at the Vander Plaat Colonial Home in Fair Lawn before being laid to rest at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus.

Hundreds paid their respects at a Fair Lawn funeral home

Batista was remembered as a leader and a "man of spirit" by his fellow FDNY firefighters.

"He performed the ultimate act of love and bravery. He responded as a firefighter, but even more as a father. He rescued his daughter off the Jersey Shore when she was in peril,” Capt. Pete Culkin of Batista's Engine Co. 226 in Brooklyn said outside the funeral home.

A ceremonial helmet and a letter of condolence were going to be presented by the FDNY to Batista's family, according to CBS New York.

A GoFundMe page continues to accept donations to support the Batista family. The FDNY Foundation has set up a scholarship fund for his daughter at fdnyfoundation.org/

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom