The Union Beach community mourns the death of one of its own after Sunday night's fire.

Robert Meyer
Robert Meyer (Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office)
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Robert Meyer, 54, of Union Hose Fire Company #1, died Sunday night after suffering a heart attack, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Meyer was one of the first responders to the four-alarm fire at Hydrair Inc., a hydraulic and pneumatic tool distributor located at 615 Union Ave. in the borough. The fire broke out shortly before 6 p.m., after which Meyer suffered the heart attack and was rushed to Bayshore Community Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 7:17 p.m.

Meyer worked as a UPS driver and was a member of the Belford Engine Company in Middletown for 25 years before joining Union Hose in 2005.

Like many of his neighbors, Meyer was a Superstorm Sandy survivor.

"He lost his own home, was living in a trailer, and he and the other firefighters were still helping other people after the storm," said Gigi Liaguno-Dorr, owner of Jackabobs on the Bay restaurant in Union Beach and friend of Meyer, in an interview with the Associated Press. "He was the very meaning of bravery. This town is heavy-hearted today."

In 2005, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission awarded Meyer a medal for helping a state trooper pull a man from a burning tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike in East Brunswick.

"Everything that you're hearing is true," said Monmouth County first assistant prosecutor Marc LeMieux. "He is truly that great man that you're talking about, and there's a lot more that could be said."

All four of Union Beach's volunteer firehouses declined to speak to reporters about Meyer, asking for privacy while they mourned the loss of a friend and brother. The flags at all four firehouses were at half-staff and a message board at Meyer's firehouse read "Ultimate Sacrifice, Bob Meyer, June 8, 2014."

"Our heartfelt thoughts are with the Meyer family, including most notably, his wife Linda," said Union Hose Fire Company chief Chris Tuberion.

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