On June 12, 2007, Deputy Chief Tom Canzanella, president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey (PFANJ) and Hackensack, NJ Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 3172, died of a heart attack after suffering from a brain aneurysm a week ago. He was 50 years old. Canzanella was commander of the 4th Platoon in the Hackensack Fire Department.
Canzanella joined the Hackensack FD in 1981. He had just become a union official when the Hackensack Ford dealership collapsed during a fire on July 1, 1988, killing five members of the department. He pushed for major safety upgrades in the department as a result of the fire investigation/report.
Canzanella traveled throughout the country on behalf of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), teaching hazmat and WMD classes. He collaborated with PennWell/FDIC on behalf of the union in support of FDIC East, which was held in 2004 and 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
