Explorers celebrate 50 years of service

The Elmont Fire District commemorated a rare milestone on March 22, when several generations of volunteers gathered at the district’s headquarters, on Lehrer Avenue, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fire Department’s Explorer Post #709.

The post was established in 1964, in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, with the purpose of encouraging young men and women to learn more about the fire service, and perhaps to prepare them to become firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

Charter members of the group, who were teens in 1964, spoke with gratitude about the organization’s positive impact on their lives. Some, who grew up without fathers in their homes, described the Explorers as a “family” that provided them with support, direction, friendship and life skills.

Most of those Explorers of 1964 went on to become members of the Elmont Fire Department, and a number of them became officers in their fire companies and the district. Over the years, many more Explorers have become EFD members as well as career firefighters and EMTs with departments such as the FDNY. Twenty of the last 29 EFD chiefs have been Explorers, including the four current chiefs, and 47 of the department’s current 203 members were Explorers.

A new motto was coined for the celebration, which summed up the Explorers’ successful mission: “Filling the Ranks for 50 Years.”

The post now has eight active members, all students at either Sewanhaka High School or Elmont Memorial High School. Their president, 16-year-old Dwayne I. Allen Jr., served in that position in 2013-14 and was elected to lead the post again in 2015-16.

“The membership numbers can fluctuate from about 25 down to eight, right after the Explorers ‘graduate’ to Fire Department membership,” explained Richard Balsan, the post’s head adviser for nearly 30 years. “And then the numbers build up again. as Explorers tell friends and classmates what a great experience it’s been for them.”