Family, elected officials and fellow firefighters gathered Monday to honor two fallen heroes on the one-year anniversary of their deaths.

John Bellew, of Pearl River, along with another firefighter died after they became trapped on the fourth floor of a burning building in the Bronx and jumped to escape the flames. Four other firefighters also jumped but survived. The day of the tragic deaths is now known as Black Sunday. Officials dedicated a plaque to the two firefighters and a third who died the same day in a separate fire in Brooklyn.

The firefighters and their families say everyone might have survived the fire if they had safety ropes. Chief Peter Hayden says all firefighters will have ropes by late spring, and about a quarter of them have been trained on them already.