Firefighters from Rockville Centre joined colleagues from East Rockaway, Lakeview and Malverne at the East Rockaway Fire Department for the annual 4th Battalion Burn Center Benefit, raising money for the Nassau University Medical Center Burn Center, the region’s only specialized facility for burn treatment.
The battalion came together on March 8 to support the center, which provides equipment, training and resources for burn care beyond what hospital funding covers.
The 4th Battalion has been raising funds for the burn center for more than 30 years, said former Rockville Centre Fire Chief John Hennig, director of the foundation board. Each year, a different department hosts the event, and this year it was East Rockaway’s turn.
Local restaurants and businesses donated food and prizes. River Mill Tavern and Tables provided trays of food, along with Nick’s Pizza in Rockville Centre and several other vendors.
“There was an open buffet free to all patrons,” Pignataro said.
Raffle tickets were also available, with proceeds benefiting the burn center. Local businesses, families and fire departments across the battalion donated prizes.
Hennig said the fundraiser consistently draws strong community support.
“We have 300 to 400 people attending every year, from firefighters and medical personnel to community members,” he said. “The Switch is a band that plays for our fundraiser every year, and we have the Nassau County Firefighters Pipes and Drums making a guest appearance.”
Joseph Mihalich, chairman of the 4th Battalion Fire District, said the event reflects the battalion’s commitment to supporting the burn center.
“We typically raise around $15,000 to $20,000 each year. It’s a tradition, and each year we try to make it a little bigger.”
This year’s total was unknown at press time.
The fundraiser is unique to the 4th Battalion, though other battalions also contribute to the burn center.
Fire officials emphasized the importance of the center’s location at NUMC in East Meadow.
“We want to know that somebody we pull out of a house fire or car wreck with burns can go someplace where they will be well taken care of,” said Thomas Gaffney, chairman of the foundation. “If we didn’t have the burn center in East Meadow, patients would have to travel to Stony Brook, Staten Island, Manhattan or the Bronx — each about a half hour to an hour away. If you have a bad burn, every minute matters.”
The center faced staffing challenges after the pandemic, when many medical professionals were reassigned. Foundation members worked with local, county and state officials to restore staffing levels. Today the center is fully staffed and treats patients from across the region.
In addition to staffing, the fundraiser helps pay for specialized equipment, including vein locators, which help medical staff find veins in burn patients. The foundation also funded cord trackers, devices attached to feeding tubes that ensure burn victims, who often have difficulty eating, receive proper nutrition. Gaffney said the devices speed up the start of nutritional support by about 25 percent.
Donations can be made online at NCBurnCenter.org.
