Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department celebrates 180 years

Posted

For almost two centuries, the volunteer members of the Glen Cove Fire Department have been responding to calls for far more than just fires. Stuck elevators, overturned vehicles, boat rescues, and the rare cat-stuck-in-a-tree scenario are just some of the ways the department helps the community.

On Saturday, June 17, the GCVFD will be hosting a day-long celebration to commemorate its 180-year anniversary. The day will kick off with a drill tournament at 10 a.m. at Tappen Beach, where teams of firefighters representing their departments will compete in various old-fashioned fire fighting techniques. Then at 6 p.m. a parade will start at Finley Middle School and march through the downtown toward the Glen Cove Firehouse. Members from the Fifth Battalion, which includes the neighboring fire departments of Bayville, East Norwich, Glenwood, Locust Valley, Oyster Bay, Roslyn, Sea Cliff, and Syosset will be participating in the entire day.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate 180 years of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department’s commitment to the safety of our city,” said Mayor Reggie Spinello.

A great deal has changed in the GCVFD. over the years. The department went from wearing rubber boots and pants to the more protective fittings of bunker pants. The power and rescue tools are much more advanced, and the rescue squad now does water rescues.

And the fires has changed too. “The fires have gotten more dangerous because of the way buildings are being constructed,” said fireman and Public Information Officer Ronnie Pascucci. Truss construction, where perforated pieces of metal hold the lumber together, can cause fighting a building fire to be even more dangerous. “If there’s a fire in truss construction within 15 minutes you shouldn’t be in there because of collapse,” Pascucci said. And he added. the synthetic materials in furniture today, cause fires to burn a lot faster, hotter, and are more toxic. “The fire service is a real science, and science is always changing,” Pascucci added. “The way we fight a fire is different now than it was years ago because of the research that’s been done.”

Besides working together, Pascucci said the department enjoys a special type of brotherhood. “When we’re fighting a fire we have camaraderie, and that’s an important thing that we can trust and rely on each other when we’re going into a house fire,” he said. “We do the best we can and we look out for each other.”

One challenge that the department is facing however, like others throughout the state, is the dwindling of its membership. Pascucci said when he first applied there was a year-long waiting list. Now, many families need two incomes and a lot of the current firemen have two jobs. “We’re in a good spot with what we have, but we don’t have the full complement of members where we need a waiting list any more,” said Pascucci. “Not enough people are coming out to volunteer like they were years ago.”

Pascucci said the department is highly anticipating their anniversary celebration. “We have put so much work into this whole thing,” he said, adding that they’ve been meeting all year long. “There’s a lot of people that really stepped up.”

The celebration will also include a bouncing castle and fire truck slide for children, a barbeque, sweets from Ralph’s Italian Ices, and beverages from the Garvies Point Brewery.

Portions of the streets in Glen Cove will be closed to traffic during the parade, and Charles Street will be closed from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Parking is available in the Brewster Street garage.

For more information or to volunteer, visit the GCVFD website at www.gcvfd.com or call the department at (516) 676-0366.