New Kensington fire station named for city's only firefighter to die in the line of duty

New Kensington’s only volunteer firefighter to die in the line of duty has been gone longer than he lived, but he has not been forgotten.

Eric Lee Mangieri was 25 years old when he became trapped in a burning house on Freeport Road on Aug. 7, 1995. A memorial to him stands outside the city’s No. 4 fire station on Seventh Street, where he had been a member for just two years.

The station now will take his name as the Eric L. Mangieri Station, which city council approved at the fire department’s request.

It is the second of the city’s five fire stations to take on a name. The No. 3 station was named for longtime fire Chief Ed Saliba Sr. before his death in June 2019.

“It is a befitting way to honor Eric, a courageous young man, who offered his selfless service and the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life in the line of duty,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said.

Mangieri’s older brother, Gary, was at a loss for words upon hearing the honor his brother received.

Gary Mangieri, 59, now lives in Murrysville and has his dental office in Ross. He and Eric were among five siblings with three sisters.

“We’re grateful that they still think of him. I know we do. We still miss him,” Gary Mangieri said.

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of Mangieri’s death, and New Kensington will host the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association’s annual convention beginning on the anniversary date, when a memorial service will be held for Mangieri, fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said.

“It’s a very nice recognition to honor somebody. Eric was a young kid who wanted to be a firefighter,” Saliba said. “He was a very nice kid. He had a promising future. I think that this is a nice way to recognize him for what happened in his life. His life was cut way too short.”

A 1988 Valley High graduate, Mangieri, of Arnold, became a volunteer firefighter after first having an interest in being a police officer.

He decided to become a chiropractor and attended classes at Westmoreland County Community College. He was going to enroll in a chiropractic school in Georgia in 1996. He worked at Costa’s Italian Market in New Kensington.

“He always had a nice smile on his face,” Saliba said.

Saliba, then a 28-year-old lieutenant, was inside the burning house at 253 Freeport Road, now an empty lot, with Mangieri and others during the 1:30 a.m. call. Cars parked outside and registered to the address led them to believe there may have been people trapped inside, but the house was empty.

After forcing their way in and searching the first floor and then the second, Saliba remembers they were running out of air. As they started to come down from the second floor, there was a sudden build up of heat — the fire that started in the basement was working its way up the house.

Saliba said he and another firefighter jumped out of a window, while one got out the front door. Mangieri became trapped, his body found under a couch in the living room.

“We were close to losing four people that morning,” Saliba said. “I think of that fire every day of my life. I think of Eric every day of my life.”

An investigation found an electrical problem caused the fire.

An autopsy found Mangieri died from smoke inhalation.

According to Valley News Dispatch reports, more than 2,500 people attended Mangieri’s funeral inside and outside Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, where he had been baptized in 1971 and had plans to be married. Firefighters came from as far away as Massachusetts, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland.

“It was a huge service. There were probably close to 100 fire trucks in the procession. It was quite a procession,” Gary Mangieri said. “I remember standing there watching the trucks go by. It took forever.”