A retired New York City firefighter who spent months working at Ground Zero after 9/11 and his girlfriend, a hospital office manager, were found dead Sunday, apparently from carbon monoxide poisoning, on a docked boat in the Fire Island community of Cherry Grove, Suffolk County police said.
Authorities found Peter R. D’Ancona, 54, and Tina Sgambati, 51, both of Moriches, aboard a 35-foot Mainship boat docked near Bayview Walk around 2:25 p.m. Sunday, police said.
The couple, who had been dating for six years, were pronounced dead at the scene by officials with the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. The deaths appear to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, police said.
D'Ancona's son, Peter Jr., 30, of Center Moriches, remembered his father as a generous and gregarious man who was deeply devoted to his family and to public service.
"He was the biggest, loudest guy," Peter D. D'Ancona said in an interview Monday at D’Ancona Contracting, a roll-off container service in Medford, where he worked at with his father. "He would do anything for you. He'd give you the shirt off his back."
D'Ancona said the family has much to celebrate in the coming months. D'Ancona's daughter, Krysta, 27, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is 12 weeks pregnant with a baby who would have been his first grandchild.
Sgambati had worked for NYU Winthrop Hospital for nine years, most recently managing one of hospital's largest office branches in North Babylon.
"Tina was a long-standing and highly respected member of the NYU Winthrop staff," said hospital spokesman Edmund Keating. "Our entire community is saddened by her loss."
Relatives of Sgambati could not be reached Monday.
Peter R. D'Ancona was on the football team at Bellport High School, had a construction company that built homes in Fire Island and served as a U.S. Marines reservist for a decade until 1985, according to family members and a Marines spokeswoman.
He joined the NYPD in 1996 and worked as a police officer at the 113th Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, until he moved to the FDNY in 1999, agency officials said.
D'Ancona was stationed at Engine Co. 10, one of the closest firehouses to the World Trade Center. On 9/11, D'Ancona was supposed to be on duty but had switched shifts with a colleague, Jeffrey Olsen of Staten Island, Peter D. D'Ancona said.
Olsen, who had been a firefighter for two years, was one of six members of the firehouse killed in the terror attack.
D'Ancona spent months working on the debris pile at Ground Zero, eventually suffering severe lung and sinus health problems that required surgery, his son said.
"I am very proud to say that I came from that firehouse," D'Ancona said during a September 2015 interview with MSNBC as Pope Francis visited the World Trade Center site. "I work with the best that there is."
D'Ancona transferred to Ladder 127 in Queens in 2005 and retired from the force the following year when he opened his contracting company.
Chris Lindberg, an FDNY Hazmat specialist, called D'Ancona, a friend of 15 years, a "top-notch firefighter" who exemplified bravery and led by example.
"He was the hardest working guy I've ever known," said Lindberg, an assistant chief at the Manorville Fire Department, where D'Ancona also worked for several years. "He was dedicated to friends, family and the fire service."
D'Ancona's parents remembered Peter as a straight shooter who was popular with friends and colleagues.
“He liked boating," said his father, Peter, 76, also of Moriches. "He liked anything. He was just an all-around guy everyone loved."
His mother, Linda, 72, said: “He was good to everyone, but he told you like it was.”
Authorities found Peter R. D’Ancona, 54, and Tina Sgambati, 51, both of Moriches, aboard a 35-foot Mainship boat docked near Bayview Walk around 2:25 p.m. Sunday, police said.
The couple, who had been dating for six years, were pronounced dead at the scene by officials with the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. The deaths appear to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, police said.
D'Ancona's son, Peter Jr., 30, of Center Moriches, remembered his father as a generous and gregarious man who was deeply devoted to his family and to public service.
"He was the biggest, loudest guy," Peter D. D'Ancona said in an interview Monday at D’Ancona Contracting, a roll-off container service in Medford, where he worked at with his father. "He would do anything for you. He'd give you the shirt off his back."
D'Ancona said the family has much to celebrate in the coming months. D'Ancona's daughter, Krysta, 27, of Raleigh, North Carolina, is 12 weeks pregnant with a baby who would have been his first grandchild.
Sgambati had worked for NYU Winthrop Hospital for nine years, most recently managing one of hospital's largest office branches in North Babylon.
"Tina was a long-standing and highly respected member of the NYU Winthrop staff," said hospital spokesman Edmund Keating. "Our entire community is saddened by her loss."
Relatives of Sgambati could not be reached Monday.
Peter R. D'Ancona was on the football team at Bellport High School, had a construction company that built homes in Fire Island and served as a U.S. Marines reservist for a decade until 1985, according to family members and a Marines spokeswoman.
He joined the NYPD in 1996 and worked as a police officer at the 113th Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, until he moved to the FDNY in 1999, agency officials said.
D'Ancona was stationed at Engine Co. 10, one of the closest firehouses to the World Trade Center. On 9/11, D'Ancona was supposed to be on duty but had switched shifts with a colleague, Jeffrey Olsen of Staten Island, Peter D. D'Ancona said.
Olsen, who had been a firefighter for two years, was one of six members of the firehouse killed in the terror attack.
D'Ancona spent months working on the debris pile at Ground Zero, eventually suffering severe lung and sinus health problems that required surgery, his son said.
"I am very proud to say that I came from that firehouse," D'Ancona said during a September 2015 interview with MSNBC as Pope Francis visited the World Trade Center site. "I work with the best that there is."
D'Ancona transferred to Ladder 127 in Queens in 2005 and retired from the force the following year when he opened his contracting company.
Chris Lindberg, an FDNY Hazmat specialist, called D'Ancona, a friend of 15 years, a "top-notch firefighter" who exemplified bravery and led by example.
"He was the hardest working guy I've ever known," said Lindberg, an assistant chief at the Manorville Fire Department, where D'Ancona also worked for several years. "He was dedicated to friends, family and the fire service."
D'Ancona's parents remembered Peter as a straight shooter who was popular with friends and colleagues.
“He liked boating," said his father, Peter, 76, also of Moriches. "He liked anything. He was just an all-around guy everyone loved."
His mother, Linda, 72, said: “He was good to everyone, but he told you like it was.”
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