An EMT and selfless hero who was devoted to others

BY RALPH R. ORTEGAS

Kevin Apuzzio was up early yesterday with his roommates, considering the future.

A lot had been weighing on the 21-year-old's mind after taking the New York City Police exam last week. He was already an emergency medical technician and a firefighter responding to calls while a student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

"He was normal, happy-every-day Kevin, scared to death of the future," said Cameron Heines, 21, a roommate who sat up with Apuzzio until 2 a.m. Hours later he was called to duty for the last time.

"I loved him like he was my brother," said another roommate, Oliver Ayon. "He's going to be very missed."

It was not unusual for their fraternity brother, Apuzzio, to dash out of the apartment on a call.

"He always carried his walkie-talkie and his beeper," said Teddy-Louis Jacques, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Roommates at the off-campus apartment, on Louis Street in New Brunswick, who had been with Apuzzio since freshman year, said he often would leave to answer an emergency call in the middle of the night.

"He would just get up and go. If it was real early, we wouldn't even hear him," said Ayon, 21.

But even though Apuzzio was very serious about his volunteer duties, his frat brothers also remembered him yesterday as a well-liked, well-rounded "brother," who participated in sports, enjoyed rock climbing and attended parties.

Even after landing a job with the Rutgers Emergency Medical Services Department, and beginning his volunteer stint with the East Franklin Fire Department three years ago, he kept up his reputation as a dynamo on campus where he studied criminal justice.

He was community service chairman at the fraternity for two years, and also spearheaded fundraising activities for the organization, his roommates said.

Apuzzio developed his devotion for others early on.

He led the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program while at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, where the dark-haired, dark-eyed 2002 graduate also helped run events like the annual open house and tricky-tray fundraiser.

Inspired by his physician father, Apuzzio sought emergency medical service training at age 16, using it to help out in school in the event of an emergency. Apuzzio signed up with the emergency medical unit in Union, his hometown in Union County.

"He was our boy," said Sheena Varughese, a six-year volunteer with the 80-member squad. Apuzzio had given up summer breaks, and even Thanksgiving to work with the unit.

"Kevin never really stopped," said James de Vico, the unit's president.

As a student at Rutgers, Apuzzio raised the bar further, becoming certified as a firefighter and volunteering for a neighboring station house in Franklin Township in Somerset County.

His next move would have been a career in law enforcement.

But a fire yesterday killed the 21-year-old as he tried to rescue a township woman.

"He died saving somebody. I don't know any other way he'd want to go. He died a hero," said Heines, wiping away tears.

Apuzzio was an occasional prankster, who commanded deep respect from those who admired the level of selflessness he carried.

"He was a leader," said high school Assistant Principal Karen Piasecki, who remembered Apuzzio as a "great member of the Union Catholic community."

"Kevin was the type of kid that, no matter what you needed help with, if there was an event going on, he was always there, asking 'what can I do to help?'" Piasecki said.