Raising a Glass for Carly Pfeiffer

It could have been confused for any Friday or Saturday night at in Cranford. Crowds jammed the bar area, having a drink and chatting with friends, while tables filled with people enjoying a burger or Sheppard’s pie. But it was a Monday as crowds came to enjoy dinner and a drink for a good cause.

The popular Irish bar on Cranford’s South Avenue became the center of fundraising for the Carly Pfeiffer Memorial Fund all day Monday. Carly Pfeiffer is the only daughter of the late Westfield firefighter Jim Pfeiffer, who following a freak accident while off duty at his Mountainside home.

Kilkenny owner Barry O’Donovan said he was talking with Cranford police captain Joe Van Bergen who was telling him about Pfeiffer and the accident and the work of the memorial fund. In the course of the conversation, Van Bergen started telling O’Donovan of the fundraiser organized by teachers earlier this year at the Crossroads in Garwood and O’Donovan saw a way he could help.

After meeting with Pfeiffer’s parents, Jim and June Pfeiffer, O’Donovan offered to sponsor the event, where 10-percent of all proceeds would be donated to the memorial fund. The fund was set up in the wake of Pfeiffer’s death by the FMBA to raise funds for the education of his then one-year-old daughter with his wife, Christine.

“We have a lot of them,” O’Donovan said. “This month we one every Monday.”

O’Donovan said many of the fundraisers he has have a connection to Cranford. Pfeiffer was a 1998 graduate of Cranford High School and his parents continue to reside in the township. A third generation Westfield firefighter and son of Westfield natives, Pfeiffer had long been active in both communities and resided in Springfield and Mountainside with his wife.

In May, Kilkenny has hosted fundraisers for Relay for Life and a Cranford based social services charity.

“This is by far the biggest,” O’Donovan said of the Pfeiffer fundraiser.

The restaurant saw a steady customer flow all day, with patrons coming in to enjoy lunch or a mid-afternoon drink to help. The had firefighters stop by to pick up lunch during the afternoon shift. As the dinner hour approached, the crowd steadily grew, to the point where a 20-minute wait was needed for a table after 6:30 p.m. The crowd continued steadily past dinner, as many lingered for a drink or stopped by for a late drink.

A contingent of Westfield firefighters remained at Kilkenny all evening, along with visiting firefighters from other departments, including a large group from Elizabeth. Cranford High alums milled about during the evening, supporting their fallen classmate. Westfield police officers could be seen coming and out during the day, along with police from Cranford to pick up something to eat.

A raffle went on all evening for a variety of prizes, including golf clubs, Yankees shirts and a flat screen television. O’Donovan donated many of the prizes and noted he received donations from the .

Pfeiffer was a Westfield firefighter for 10 years prior to his death. his August funeral, which was attended by hundreds, Pfeiffer has achieved national media attention in 2005 when he used his slender 6’1, 160-pound frame to rescue a small child who had fallen into a 10-inch wide hole in Tamaques Park. Pfeiffer was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.

The Kilkenny fundraiser was the latest in a steady stream of grassroots fundraisers for the fund. In March, a group of teachers at Roosevelt organized the at the Crossroads for the fund. June Pfeiffer is a paraprofessional at RIS. , the in Westfield was dedicated to Carly Pfeiffer and in September, in Garwood for the fund.

In addition, days after Pfeiffer’s death, Edison resident Hal Smolanoff, a friend of FMBA President Mike Sawicki, he was running to Pfeiffer. for the fund.

The total amount raised at Kilkenny has not been calculated. O’Donovan did say it is one of the fundraisers he’s hosted that he will remember.

“This is an extra special one, because it’s a special cause,” he said.