The Warren County Communications captain and longtime rescue squad official died Saturday after responding to a crash call that involved his 19-year-old daughter. Watch video
The man law enforcement, EMS, firefighters and friends knew as "the ultimate volunteer" was laid to rest Thursday.
Hundreds packed into Cochran Funeral Home in Independence Township to pay their final respects to Eskil "Scott" Danielson, a Warren County Communications captain and longtime Sussex County resident.
Folks poured outside and stood at attention as pallbearers carried Danielson's flag-draped casket outside the funeral home. It was then loaded into a Lakeland Emergency Squad ambulance for the procession to Locust Hill Cemetery in Dover, where Danielson was laid to rest.
Fire engines, police cars, ambulances and dozens of other emergency vehicles joined the procession.
"Shine your light, when you're gone. Give me the strength, to carry on," daughter Alycia Danielson wrote on her Facebook page.
She also posted a photograph of herself with her father on brother Aaron's wedding day, saying, "I am my father's daughter."
EMS official dies after answering call involving daughter
Danielson, 49, an EMS volunteer and official from Andover Borough in Sussex County, died Saturday after rushing to aid 19-year-old Alycia in a car crash.
After answering the call, Danielson went to Newton Medical Center to check on his daughter, and while in the waiting room suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed, said his brother Eric Danielson, Andover Township's police chief.
Friends, family and colleagues described him as the "ultimate volunteer."
Rourke Day, EMS coordinator for Sussex County, said Danielson's service to numerous agencies was immeasurable.
"He was always there when you needed him," Day said outside the funeral home. "It's definitely not going to be the same without Scott out on the road with us."
"I'm not sure how anyone fills the void you left, but I know that the heavens are rejoicing to have someone to handle the communications," Scott's sister-in-law, Debbie Emmich Danielson, posted on her Facebook page. "I'm just not sure if they have enough bank chargers, emergency lights or portable radios for my brother-in-law's liking."
Danielson and his two brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Skip Danielson, retired police chief of the Byram Township Police Department in Sussex County. Kevin Danielson, Scott's other brother, is a firefighter in Clifton.
Scott Danielson started serving as a Lakeland Emergency Squad cadet in Sussex County at age 14. He went on to eventually serve as squad chief and spent more than 35 years with the unit.
As captain at the Warren County 911 Center, he managed the staff for more than a decade and was a member of the Warren County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He had previously served the Sussex-Morris Regional, Bernardsville, Morris County and New Jersey State Police communications centers.
Danielson also was an elected official. He was in his third term on Andover Borough Council and was active in the borough's emergency management.
He was a past firefighter on the Andover Borough Fire Department and a deputy district warden with the NJ Forest Fire Service.
He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Tammy, and three children: Aaron, 28, who is with the U.S. Air Force at Fort Dix, N.J.; and daughters Amanda, 21, and Alycia. His father and mother Judy Danielson also are surviving.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.