Thousands of white-gloved firefighters saluted FDNY Lt. Gordon “Matt” Ambelas as a fallen hero at his Staten Island funeral Thursday, but to the two little girls he left behind, he’ll always be far more — their daddy.
“You didn’t just take care of us, you loved us,” his widow, Nanette, wrote in a eulogy for Ambelas, who died fighting a high-rise fire in Brooklyn.
“You gave us stability, comfort, warmth and safety. You saved me. I wish you could save me now.”
Friends and family filled St. Clare’s Church in Great Kills for the service, during which the 40-year-old firefighter was remembered as the best the department had to offer.
But for every tale of Ambelas’ courage in the line of duty, there was an even better story about his dedication as a doting husband and father.
There was the pool he had installed at his Staten Island home so he could splash around with his daughters, Giovanna, 5, and Gabriella, 8.
“He loved spending time with his wife and daughters,” Mayor de Blasio said. “And because his daughters loved to swim, he installed a pool and, after work, couldn’t wait to get home and dive in with them.”
De Blasio joined friends, family, firefighters and elected officials who filled the church on Nelson Avenue, which was closed for several blocks to accommodate the thick crowd of Bravest in their dress uniforms.
Mourners shook hands and hugged, a reunion for many, but under the worst possible circumstance. Then silence filled the air as a gleaming, cherry-red firetruck approached carrying Ambelas’ body in a casket.
“[Fire is] cruel and indiscriminate in its selection,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. “But it always seems to take our best.”
Nigro stood at an altar decorated with helmets from Ladder Cos. 119 in Brooklyn and 81 in Staten Island — the battalions where Ambelas served.
His daughters wore the helmets at the conclusion of the service, when firefighters presented them and saluted their sobbing mother.
Overcome with grief, Nanette Ambelas had a friend, Margaret Gulliksen, read her touching eulogy for the husband she called her “angel.”
Gulliksen, the wife of a firefighter, had introduced her to Ambelas.
“You and I were like a circle,” Nanette wrote. “Where I left off, you picked up.”
She also recalled the family’s trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and going to Disney World — with the girls “watching you ride every ride, even the ones you couldn’t fit into.”
Ambelas died Saturday while searching for victims in a smoke-choked apartment at the Independence Towers in Williamsburg.
He had been with the FDNY 14 years and worked through some of its most trying times, including the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Sandy.
Funeral attendees included actor Steve Buscemi, former FDNY Commissioner Sal Cassano, Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-SI) and Public Advocate Letitia James.
Back in May, Ambelas helped save 7-year-old Mendy Gotlieb who was trapped in a roll-down gate.
The boy had been pulled 15 feet off the ground when his arm and head got stuck.
Mendy, his dad and rabbi also came to pay their respects.
“My son couldn’t sleep when he heard the rescuer, who saved his life, has come to an end,” the boy’s dad Abraham Gotlieb said. “It was unbelievable. My wife, my whole family couldn’t sleep. The hero guy is not here any more.”
Ambelas is survived by his wife of 10 years, Nanette Russo Ambelas, and two daughters, 5 and 8.
Donations for an education fund can be made to “Ambelas Children’s Education Fund” and mailed to: The FDNY Foundation, 9 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Donations can also be made to: Silver Shield Foundation, 870 United Nations Plaza, 1st Floor, New York, NY, 10017.
Additional reporting by David K. Li.