FDNY Firefighter Drowns Trying to Save Teen Daughter

When he saw his teen daughter get in trouble in the ocean, New York City firefighter Mark Batista ran into the water to save her. His daughter lived, but Batista never made it out, reports NBC News. The 39-year-old drowned Friday morning at the Jersey Shore after bringing his family to the beach near Avon-on-the-Sea. His ocean-loving daughter jumped in first, but soon began being pulled out to sea by a rip current, per the New York Times. Batista, who was also an EMT in addition to being an FDNY firefighter, apparently got caught in the same rip current while trying to save her.

“We are heartbroken," said the FDNY in a statement, per NorthJersey.com. Emergency units got to the beach about 8:35am and quickly rescued Batista's daughter from the water. Her name and age were not released. Batista's body was not pulled out until about 10am. No lifeguards were on duty at the beach when the family was there—they don't start full-time watches until this coming weekend. “That his wife had to watch him go into that water and not come out, it kills me,” friend and emergency service tech Janelle Rivera tells the Times. “The life of his daughter is the result of his heroism, and that is everything a wife and mother could ever ask for.” (More drowning stories.)