Senate Resolution No. 812
BY: Senator THOMAS
COMMEMORATING the 111th Anniversary of the
Roosevelt Fire Department
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proud to commemorate the 111th
Anniversary of the Roosevelt Fire Department and to honor its past and
present firefighting members for 111 years of fire protection to the
citizens of Roosevelt, New York, and its surrounding communities; and
WHEREAS, Fire departments are an integral part of community
protection services in every locality of our State; during the past 111
years, the courageous and devoted firefighters of Roosevelt Fire
Department have valiantly responded to all types of fire emergencies and
have won the praise and respect of the community which they serve; and
WHEREAS, Organized in 1912, the Roosevelt Fire Department is
comprised of five companies, currently housed in two stations: Alpha
Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 the original company of the department
organized in 1900, when Roosevelt was known as Greenwich; Paint
Emergency Co. No. 1, organized in 1936; and Fire Police Company are
housed in Headquarters at 56 W, Centennial Avenue, along with Hose and
Engine Co. No. 1 while awaiting the rebuilding of their former quarters
on Park Avenue and Hose and Engine Co. No. 3 which will celebrate their
100th Anniversary in May of 2023, is housed on Babylon Turnpike; and
WHEREAS, Roosevelt Fire Department once had an additional company,
Russell Hose Co. No. 2, which was housed at the current location of
Freeport Fire Department, Hose Co. No. 2 on Leonard Avenue; No. 2 was
organized before World War I, when the incorporated village of Freeport
only extended as far north as Seamen Avenue; and
WHEREAS, After a petition for annexation was granted to the area
North of Seaman Avenue in 1922, Protection Hose and Engine Co. No. 3 was
organized to serve the southeast; and
WHEREAS, In 1923, Roosevelt Fire Department together with Hose Co.
No. 5 of the Freeport Fire Department served the newly annexed area of
the village; in that same year, Russell Hose Co. was dissolved, and
their members disbursed among the new Companies based on where they
lived, with Russell's firehouse sold to Hose Co. No. 5 as their first
quarters; and
WHEREAS, The 18 charter members of Protection Hose and Engine Co.
No. 3 built their own quarters at the current location of the Company on
Babylon Turnpike; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, also known as Truck Co.
No. 1, was originally housed in their own building on Debevoise Avenue,
prior to the building of Roosevelt Fire Department's prior headquarters
in 1929; the current headquarters was opened in 2005, on the same
Centennial Avenue site as the original building; and
WHEREAS, As the original apparatus room of Hose and Engine Co. No.
3's first firehouse became too small for larger engines, a new
cinderblock apparatus room was added to the original frame welding and
opened in 1953, with the original converted into a much larger company
meeting room; and
WHEREAS, On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1991, a fire
that began with the audible alarm controls heavily damaged the original
building, but fortunately, spared the apparatus housed in the
cinderblock addition; the cinderblock apparatus room was subsequently
found to be able to support a second story, so the original firehouse
was torn down to create adequate parking, and an extended second story
was added for new meeting and social rooms; and
WHEREAS, Currently, the Roosevelt Fire Department is comprised of
approximately 44 members who are all volunteer firefighters or Emergency
Medical Technicians; each Company has a captain and one or two
lieutenants, who with the three chiefs constitute the leadership of the
department headed by Chief Hector Tyler Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Over the years we have had many dedicated members, with our
membership evolving as our community did; the first African American
members joined in the 1960s, with our first black Chief James Barton
elected in 1980; and
WHEREAS, In the 1970s, the first women firefighters joined, and in
more recent years, many Latino members, including current 2nd Assistant
Chief, Abner Vasquez; and
WHEREAS, Notable members in the Department's history include
ex-Chief Lester Marks and firefighter John Rogers, who beside being
knowledgeable active firefighters, were also Nassau County Police
officers, and together, organized the Nassau County Police Department's
Arson Squad; and
WHEREAS, Ex-Chief Daniel Markham, who became Nassau County's first
black Fire Marshall, and Honorary Chiefs Bernard Von Elm of Emergency
Co. and Aloysius Ansert Jr. of Hose and Engine Co. No. 3, who were both
elected as such for their long-term dedication and active membership
well into their 70's; and
WHEREAS, Honorary Chief Ansert Jr. helped organize the New York
State Volunteer Firemen's home's first Residents Council, and became its
first Vice President; later, Hose No. 3 ex-Captain Allison Stewart
become the first Chief of South Farmingdale Fire Department; and
WHEREAS, With a membership of dedicated firefighters, the record of
Roosevelt Fire Department in public service and fire protection is one
to be envied; for 24 hours a day, for 365 days a year, for 111 years,
whenever the alarm sounded, these noble volunteers left their homes and
went to the aid of their neighbors; and
WHEREAS, The brave firefighters of Roosevelt Fire Department are
prepared to risk their lives every day to help save the lives of others
and to protect homes and property from the destruction caused by fire;
and
WHEREAS, In addition to the skill and devoted service demonstrated
by individual firefighters, the Roosevelt Fire Department reflects the
history and development of firefighting over the past 111 years; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body cannot express sufficient gratitude
to those devoted individuals who recognize that the preservation of life
and property is a sacred responsibility and who make that responsibility
their own by serving as firefighters; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that we should
give special recognition to those who work so assiduously for the
betterment of their communities, and acknowledge publicly the heroic
good works performed by the volunteer fire departments of this great
Empire State, their officers and auxiliaries; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
proudly commemorate the 111th Anniversary of Roosevelt Fire Department;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Roosevelt Fire Department.
