Buffalo, NY – Mayor Byron W. Brown, in partnership with Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia and Fire Commissioner William Renaldo, would like to share the funeral arrangements for media members who wish to cover the services for Buffalo Firefighter Jason D. Arno.

WAKE

A public wake for Buffalo Firefighter Jason D. Arno will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2023 for relatives and friends of the fallen firefighter from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Amigone Funeral Home, located at 1132 Delaware Avenue.

At 1:45 p.m., Mayor Byron Brown, along with the Buffalo Police and Fire Command Staffs, will offer their condolences to the family of Firefighter Arno at the wake. Immediately following their visit, at approximately 2:15 p.m., Mayor Brown and a representative from both the Buffalo Police and Fire Departments, will address the media at the media staging area on Delaware Avenue, near West Ferry Street.

Members of the media are welcome to park near the staging area or at the nearby Canisius High School parking lot. Members of the media will not be permitted inside the funeral home for the wake.

Important Traffic Advisories and Parking Information for Public Wake on Thursday

Delaware Avenue will be closed to traffic between W Ferry Street and W Utica Street, from 12:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Due to limited space, parking at the Amigone Funeral Home is limited to immediate family and friends of the Arno family and those with disabilities.

We thank Buffalo Professional Firefighters Local 282 for securing additional parking usage in the following lots.

• All day – Gurney Becker & Bourne/976 Delaware Avenue
• All day – Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation/1000 Delaware Avenue
• All day – Former Rite Aid Site/214 West Utica Street
• After 4:00 p.m. – Canisius High School Lots/1180 and 1193 Delaware Avenue, between West Ferry and Cleveland Avenue

Out of respect for those in attendance at the public wake, media are asked to adhere to guidelines and staging information. If media members have additional questions regarding coverage of any of the above arrangements, please contact Michael DeGeorge at (716) 341-9522. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, March 10th, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street.

Important Travel Advisory and Parking Information

The following streets will be closed on Friday, March 10th.

• Virginia Street between S. Elmwood Avenue and Mariner Street/6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• Delaware Avenue between W. Ferry Street and W. Utica Street/6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
• Franklin Street between W. Seneca Street and W. Eagle Street/6:00 am – 1:00 p.m.
• Church Street between Pearl Street and Delaware Avenue/6:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Erie Street between Lower Terrace and Franklin Street/6:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Upper Terrace between Pearl Street and W. Seneca Street/6:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Swan Street between Franklin Street and Pearl Street/6:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Allen Street between Delaware Avenue and Elmwood Avenue/9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

In addition, rolling road and street closures will begin at 9:00 a.m. as the funeral procession for Buffalo Firefighter Jason D. Arno moves from the Amigone Funeral Home to St. Joseph Cathedral.

• At that time, roads will be closed intermittently, on a rolling basis, until all of the processional vehicles have passed.
• The procession will consist of a law enforcement lead, with a combination of motorcycles and marked patrol vehicles from the Buffalo Fire Department, Buffalo Police Department, Amherst Police Department, Cheektowaga Police Department, Erie County Sheriffs Office, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, New York State Troopers, United States Border Patrol, and American Medical Response. The casket will be carried by Buffalo Fire Department Engine #2. It will be trailed by Buffalo Police Department marked units.
• The procession route to the cathedral is as follows:

Depart south from 1132 Delaware Ave (Amigone) turning west onto Allen St. West on Allen St. turning south onto S Elmwood Ave. South on S Elmwood Ave. (passing BFD Engine 2 Station at Virginia St) continuing south on S Elmwood Ave. across W Eagle St. to Lower Terrace. South on Lower Terrace turning east on Erie St. (family) and W Seneca St. (casket). Engine #2 will be met at Franklin St. and W Seneca St. by the Greater Buffalo Firefighters Pipes and Drums. Then north on Franklin St. to arrive at 50 Franklin St (Church).

• The procession route to the cemetery is as follows:

Depart north from 50 Franklin St. (Cathedral) turning west onto Church St. West on Church turning north on Delaware Ave. The procession will travel north on Delaware Ave. until arrival at Forest Lawn Cemetery at Delaware Ave. and W Delavan Ave.

Mass of Christian Burial Details for those Attending the Service

Anyone that is not participating in the Friday Funeral Service is asked to avoid the area in and around St. Joseph Cathedral on Friday morning, if at all possible.

Buffalo Fire Department personnel who are not part of the procession, or those traveling by bus, and all other first responders, will be directed to park at Buffalo RiverWorks, where shuttles will be provided to and from the cathedral from 7:00 a.m. to 8:40a.m. Attendees are asked to assemble outside St. Joseph Cathedral, no later than 9:30 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial is anticipated to last approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours. The procession route to the cemetery will begin around 11:30 a.m. and Noon, depending on the mass length.

Important Information for Members of the Public

Due to the heavy influx of out-of-town firefighters coming in for the funeral, with hundreds of them booked in downtown hotels, the City is asking members of the public who want to pay their respects to the fallen firefighter to line the processional route for sidewalk viewing on the day of the funeral.

Members of the public can watch live coverage of the funeral on a large outdoor screen, located at the corner of Franklin Street and West Eagle Street. In addition, local network TV stations, as well as the City of Buffalo Government Channel, will be streaming the service live. It can also be viewed on Mayor Brown’s Facebook page.

Due to limited parking along the processional route, members of the public who want to view the procession to and from the cathedral are encouraged to utilize public transportation, as the NFTA will continue to provide rail service throughout the day. The following Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps will be open and are located within walking distance to the church.

• Adam Ramp - 343 Washington Street
• Fernbach Ramp - 200 Pearl Street
• Turner Ramp - 1 Perkins Drive

Important Information for the Members of the Media who are covering the Service:

• Media is asked to be in place at the exterior staging site at St. Joseph Cathedral, at Church and Franklin, no later than 8:00 a.m. on Friday, March 10th. Risers will be provided. Media is encouraged to park in the parking lot behind St. Joseph’s Cathedral on Church Street.
• A live feed, provided by a pool camera from Channel 4, will be available for all media outlets. Further details on the pool feed will be made available on Thursday, March 9th.
• The service is due to begin at 10:00 a.m. and is expected to last 90 minutes. A procession will follow, setting off at around 11:30 a.m., to the Forest Lawn Cemetery.
• No media allowed inside the church during the funeral service, aside from the pool camera.
• Please remember that despite the venue, this is a religious service. Guests inside the cathedral are asked to decline from posting to social media from inside the venue out of respect for the solemnity and decorum of this service. Reporters outside of the cathedral will have live access to the broadcast and can post to social media from outside the facility, so this restriction will not prevent reporting on this event.

Important Travel Advisory following the Service:

Following the funeral service, a procession will leave the cathedral and travel to Forest Lawn Cemetery, where Firefighter Jason D. Arno will be laid to rest.

From St. Joseph Cathedral to Forest Lawn Cemetery, again, the procession route will be as follows:

• Depart north from 50 Franklin St. (Cathedral) turning west onto Church St. West on Church St. turning north on Delaware Ave. The procession will travel north on Delaware Ave. until arrival at Forest Lawn Cemetery at Delaware Ave. and W Delavan Ave.

Traffic along the route will be intermittently delayed until the procession passes.

Committal Service

The committal service is private for family and invited guests only. Media members are respectfully asked to not attend the committal.

We ask all of the members of the media and the general public to respect the privacy of the family, friends and colleagues of Firefighter Jason D. Arno by adhering to the guidelines as set forth above. Throughout this difficult time, we remain grateful for the support, patience and cooperation from the entire community in our City of Good Neighbors.

For any additional information or inquiries, please call 311.

OBITUARY

The following is the obituary for Firefighter Jason D. Arno:

ARNO - Jason D.

March 1, 2023, age 37. Beloved husband of Sarah-Elizabeth (nee Tierney) Arno; loving father of Olivia Louise Arno; dear son of Sheryl (late John) Maher and David (Julie) Arno; caring brother of Delton (Ashley) Arno, Lydia Maher, Erikka Arno, Alyssa Arno, Abigail Maher, Nic Arno and Noah Arno; adored son-in-law of Karen Tierney and Robert (Deborah) Tierney; also survived by many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

The family will be present on Thursday from 2-8 PM at the (Delaware Chapel) AMIGONE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1132 Delaware Avenue (at West Ferry).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday from St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street, Buffalo at 10 AM. Friends are asked to please assemble at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and/or the Buffalo Animal Shelter. Please share condolences at www.AMIGONE.com.