WNY community gathers for cookout honoring fallen firefighter Jason Arno

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Fallen Buffalo Firefighter Jason Arno, who died battling a fire in March 2023, was honored Sunday at the second annual Firefighter Arno Memorial Foundation Cookout.

Arno, 37, was a three-year member of the Buffalo Fire Department when he battled the four-alarm structure fire on Main Street in Buffalo’s Theatre District.

His colleagues and friends gathered to host the cookout at Tewksbury Lodge, which had plenty of food and family fun to go around, including a bounce house and a game of tug-of-war between the Buffalo Fire Department and the Buffalo Police Department.

“Friends, family, fire departments from all over Western New York, police departments from all over Western New York, we have EMS,” said James Fierro Jr., the president and co-founder of the Firefighter Arno Memorial Foundation. “Every walk of life is here and to me, this is exactly what it’s meant to be. It’s just a really fun, backyard barbecue down at the water.”

The event’s proceeds will go toward scholarships for students and helping first responders.

The Firefighter Arno Memorial Foundation was created in Arno’s memory to provide resources, financial support and opportunities for Western New York first responders and their families.

Sunday's cookout follows past remembrances of Arno, including a procession through city streets in March 2024, the dedication of two new fire trucks in his memory in September 2023, and a volleyball tournament fundraiser for the foundation in August 2023, to name a few.