Thursday, June 12, 2025
The 4th Battalion Fire District and the Nassau County Firefighters Burn Center Foundation hosted Nassau County’s yearly Firefighters Burn Center Benefit at the Malverne Fire Department headquarters on Sunday. The event was attended by firefighters from the Malverne, Lakeview, East Rockaway, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre.
“The Foundation supports the burn center at the Nassau University Medical Center,” said John Henning, a director on the Burn Center Foundation board and ex-Chief of the Rockville Center fire department.
The Nassau University Medical Center houses a $6.7 million, 12,000-square-foot burn center. With sophisticated technology, specialized surgeons and nurses at NUMC can treat up to ten patients at once, with designated beds for critical and acute care.
“This burn center is it for Nassau County, most of Long Island,” said Henning. “It stretches from the middle of Queens and out to Suffolk County, this is the Burn Center.”
Experienced staff help burn victims with immediate pain and long term healing, with a support team to guide patients with the long process and a hospital based peer support program titled Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery. SOAR allows people with shared experiences to support and assist each other to adapt to life with a burn injury.
“There was definitely a need at the burn center for different equipment, to help the staff with training, education, travel,” said Henning. “That's where we step in, the foundation supports the staff above and beyond what the medical center will supply to the burn center.”
Since 2008 the 4th Battalion has hosted a fundraiser for the Burn Center Foundation. The 4th Battalion consists of the Malverne, Lakeview, East Rockaway, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre, and each year a different firehouse will volunteer to organize and host the fundraiser event.
“Through the years it’s really grown in popularity,” said Henning. “With social media, getting out the information and people come from all over the county to whatever firehouse is hosting it that year.”
The money collected during the fundraiser is donated to the foundation to offset their costs for supporting the burn center. Henning estimates the 4th Battalion has raised nearly $200,000 for the Burn Center over the many years they’ve hosted this fundraiser.
“This is open to the public too,” said James Lang, vice chairman to the fourth battalion and ex-chief of the Malverne fire department. “It’s not just first responders that can come to these fundraisers, it’s for anyone and everyone.”
The fundraiser included food and drinks. A portion of sales from the hand-rolled The Chief cigars by KJD Cigar Co. was donated to the Foundation. There was live music provided by the band The Switch and the Nassau County Firefighters Pipes and Drums.
Raffle tickets were available to purchase and win raffle items donated by members of the participating firehouses and the local communities. The baskets available included a range of different whiskeys, bourbons, wines, tools, gift cards, an air purifier, a free bounce house rental and more.
There was also a silent auction through Long Island Silent Auctions with more exclusive items, including signed sports memorabilia from Mike Tyson, the Yankees, Jets, Giants, the Islanders, and the Rangers, designer hand bags, a CD display signed by Taylor Swift, a four night four person stay at a golf course in Myrtle Beach, and a five night stay at an all inclusive resort in either the Dominican Republic or Cancun for two. A portion of any sales made in the silent auction will be donated to the Burn Center.
“You can see the amount of work that goes in to make this happen. It takes months of planning beforehand, they get the raffles, the logistics, everything,” said Henning. “It’s a lot to get done and Malverne has done an outstanding job.”
