State of New Jersey
Executive Order #138

Governor Jon S. Corzine

WHEREAS, Firefighter Manuel Rivera, Sr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and graduated from Trenton Central High School and the Mercer County Fire Academy; and

WHEREAS, Manuel Rivera, Sr. had been a Trenton Firefighter for 14 years and was assigned to Engine No. 3; and

WHEREAS, on February 9, 2009, in the city of Trenton, Firefighter Rivera, at the age of 42, suffered a massive heart attack while rescuing a man who was dangling from a window of a burning home; and

WHEREAS, Firefighter Rivera, almost two months after his heroic rescue, died of injuries sustained while saving another man’s life, making the ultimate sacrifice; and

WHEREAS, Firefighter Rivera’s selfless devotion to public service and the protection of others makes him a hero and a role model for all New Jerseyans and, therefore, it is appropriate and fitting for the State where he was born and raised to recognize his extraordinary bravery and commitment to the welfare of others, to mark his untimely passing, to remember his parents, his wife, his five children, his extended family, his friends, and his fellow firefighters as they mourn their tragic loss, and to honor his memory;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JON S. CORZINE, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

  1. The flag of the United States of America and the flag of the State of New Jersey will be flown at half-staff at all State departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities during appropriate hours on Monday, April 13, 2009, in recognition of the life and in mourning of the passing of Firefighter Manuel Rivera, Sr.

  2. This Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 8th
day of April, Two Thousand and Nine,
and of the Independence of the United
States, the Two Hundred and Thirty-third.

/s/ Jon S. Corzine

Governor

[seal]

 

Attest:

/s/ William J. Castner, Jr.

Chief Counsel to the Governor