Plaque dedicated to OFD 9/11 first responder

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Kenny Marino has a street in Oceanside named for him, a bench on the Long Beach boardwalk named for him and now a plaque in Monroe, N.Y., bears his name, honoring his heroics on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

On June 10, Oceanside Fire Chief Kevin Klein, Assistant Chief Joseph Caroccia, and former chief Bob Jacoby took to Monroe for a ceremony and plaque dedication held by the Mombasha Fire Company. Kenny’s parents, who live in Oceanside and are still involved in the Oceanside Fire Department, came along for the plaque dedication. Kenny’s wife Katrina and Jay Jonas, a New York City Fire Department captain on Sept. 11, were among the speakers.

Chief Klein called the plaque and ceremony beautiful. He remembered Kenny’s legacy fondly.

“Kenny was very, very nice. He was extremely quiet and very good at what he did,” Klein recalled. He noted that Marino had been a volunteer firefighter since he was 18, and in her speech at the ceremony, Marino’s wife commented that it was something he loved to do.

Kenny started his firefighting career in Oceanside’s Hose Company No. 1 on Evergreen Avenue before moving on to the Long Beach and Mineola fire departments. Intending to start a family, he moved upstate to Monroe after his marriage to Katrina.

Kenny was 40, and early in his tenure in Monroe’s Mombasha Fire Company when he went missing during the events of Sept. 11. His body was never found.

Klein said the ceremony was tough for him because it, “rehashes everything.

“It was difficult,” he continued. “But it’s nice that people still remember him. It’s nice that he meant so much to the guys up there.”