04' News Archives

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=75 BGCOLOR="#330000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="198c8c83.jpg"> <div> Riverhead Volunteer Fire Department</div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=250 BGCOLOR="#BBBBBB" TEXT="#080000" background="0befa043.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Riverhead Volunteer Fire Department">Home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="07_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="07 News Archives">07' News Archives</A></div> <div> <A HREF="06_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="06 News Archives">06' News Archives</A></div> <div> <A HREF="05_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="05 News Archives">05' News Archives</A></div> <div> <B>04' News Archives</B></div> <div> <A HREF="03_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="03 News Archives">03' News Archives</A></div> <div> <A HREF="02_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="02 News Archives">02' News Archives</A></div> <div> <A HREF="01_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="01 News Archives">01' News Archives</A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_01_news_archives.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="pre01 News Archives">pre-01' News Archives</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=405 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>04' News Archives</I></div> <div>  <A NAME="riverhead_s_women_firefighters"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>Riverhead's Women Firefighters</B></div> <div> by Erica Bowers     12-16-2004     <A HREF="http://www.indyeastend.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.indyeastend.com/">Traveler-Watchman Newspapers</A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="162" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 290 WIDTH="156"><div> <IMG SRC="4b096c80.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" >Riverhead's Female Firefighters front row  - Millie Pelis, Connie Kwasna, Rose Castillo, Ann Reichel and Christine Nastasi.  back row - Tess Corwin, Laura James and Cathy Urevich.</FONT></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> “We didn’t join to meet men. That’s for sure,” joked Millie Roth, Riverhead’s first female firefighter. She continued seriously, “All the girls are here for the right reason. They are here with their hearts and souls. They are here for the community.” </div> <bR> <div> With 10 full-fledged female firefighters, Riverhead, it seems, is leading the latest trend in community service. These women are blazing the trail for the next generation of women. They are among the ranks of some 35,000 women across the country willing to risk their lives for their neighbors. </div> <bR> <div> Joining the Riverhead Fire Department 20 years ago this week, Roth says she dreamed of being a firefighter from the age of four. Living around the corner from a busy city fire department, Roth said she hung out at the firehouse every chance she got. She told her role models that one day she, too, would hop on the back of a fire truck and rush to the rescue. </div> <bR> <div> Years passed and Roth found herself married with two children. It wasn’t until she turned 36 that she made her lifelong dream come true when she became Riverhead’s first woman firefighter. </div> <bR> <div> “It wasn’t easy,” said Roth. “I had to prove myself. But now, twenty years later, I believe I am respected.” </div> <bR> <div> At the age of 57, Roth is Riverhead Fire Department’s 2nd vice president and a member of the 1st Fire Police Company, headed up by Captain Connie Kwasna. </div> <bR> <div> “I don’t go on fire calls anymore, but when I did it was just awesome,” said Roth. </div> <bR> <div> While Roth says she had many close calls with death during her tenure in the department, she says she stood strong and pushed herself to prove she could do it. She yearned to hop on a truck and man a hose that blasted out a fire. </div> <bR> <div> There was the time she was caught in a brush fire. “I didn’t think we were going to make it out of the woods,” said Roth. “The flames were right behind us.” </div> <bR> <div> There were also many late nights and hours without sleep. “I remember this one time that I hopped on a truck, not knowing where we were going. Twelve hours later I was still in Montauk fighting a fire,” said Roth. </div> <bR> <div> And of course there was jesting on the part of her male counterparts. “That is one thing I learned,” said Roth. “If you are gonna hang with the boys, you have to be able to take a joke.” </div> <bR> <div> Despite the tender wisecracks, Roth says all the women in the Riverhead Fire Department are treated as equals. They are respected for their hard work and their dedication to the community. </div> <bR> <div> In fact, equality in the fire department is so strong that Terri Davis, a 16-year member of the Riverhead Fire Department, could hardly believe her ears when she learned The Traveler Watchman was working on a story about women firefighters in Riverhead. Davis, who has served as a captain and first lieutenant of the Hose and Engine Company, said, “I feel like the women of the two-hundred-and-ten-member fire department are being singled out. We are all equal.” </div> <bR> <div> “We are neck-in-neck with the guys,” agreed Alice Jasinski, a nine year veteran of the fire department. “We are all treated as equal.” </div> <bR> <div> Jasinski says she joined the fire department shortly after her husband did. “I found I had an interest in it,” said Jasinski. “And I care very much about my community.” Caring so much, Jasinski, only two months out of training, rushed to help battle the 1995 brush fires. “There is nothing like hands on training,” she said. “I was right in the middle of it. I didn’t think anything about the danger. I put firefighting before my life.” </div> <bR> <div> “They dared me,” said Connie Kwasna, a nine-year veteran of the department. “They said I couldn’t do it.” To prove them wrong, Kwasna endured the rigorous training and drove herself hard to pass all the requirements within a year. She said, “Just because someone says you can’t do it, it doesn’t mean you can’t.” </div> <bR> <div> Now, Kwasna, an officer in the department, trains fellow firefighters and is a member of the water rescue team. “There is nothing extraordinary about what we do,” said Kwasna. “We do our jobs and go home.” </div> <bR> <div> One of the newest members, Ann Reichel, will have logged two years in February. “Its amazing to go into action,” said Reichel, who intends to move up the ranks of the department. “It is very exhilarating. Like a rush.” </div> <bR> <div> Reichel, at 23, is following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. For 20 years, she watched her father wake in the middle of the night to respond to a call. Now, she says, she and her father respond together. </div> <bR> <div> Laura James is one of the department’s newest members and in February she will have served for a full year. “I wanted to give back to what the community has given to me,” said James. And like Reichel, James says when a call comes, adrenaline rushes through her blood. “You just don’t know what to expect. You don’t know if it’s family.” </div> <bR> <div> According to Women in Firefighting, a national organization for woman firefighters, there are currently about 6,200 women serving as full-time firefighters and another 35,000 who are volunteers, many of them serving as chiefs and officers of their local fire departments. In fact, as of November 2004, there were 23 career-level women firefighters. </div> <bR> <div> Yes, the numbers are staggering, but Women in Firefighting reports that there still exist many barriers for women wanting to become firefighters, including societal myths that women cannot be competent firefighters, as well as a general distrust of fire departments’ motivations for hiring women. </div> <bR> <div> There also exist institutional barriers. According to Women in Firefighting, many fire stations were built to accommodate only one-sex changing facilities and protective gear and uniforms designed to fit men only. </div> <bR> <div> The latter is true in the Riverhead Fire Department, but Roth says she is looking to change all that. “We do have a unisex bathroom, but we need a separate locker room,” said Roth. “The girls need a private area to go to.” </div> <bR> <div> As Riverhead starts to mull over a plan to build a new firehouse, Roth said she will ensure that the women’s needs are included in the plan. Then, she said, she will work on getting new uniforms. </div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="an_old_reliable_reflects"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>An old "Reliable" reflects</B></div> <div> by Ambrose Clancy     08-13-2004     <A HREF="http://timesreview.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://timesreview.com">News Review</A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="262" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 266 WIDTH="256"><div> <B><IMG SRC="4e8fabf0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="191" ALT="Alvin Bartunek" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> Riverhead resident Alvin Bartunek, 93, has served in the Reliable Hose and Engine Company No.1 for 70 of its 100 years of existence. He posed in front of one of the company's fire trucks this week. </div> <div> News-Review photo by Barbaraellen Koch</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> With the Riverhead Fire Department celebrating the 100th year of service of the Reliable Hose and Engine Company No. 1, there's a member in good standing who recalls 70 of those years. </div> <bR> <div> "I became a member of the Reliables on July 16, 1934," said Alvin Bartunek, 93, citing a letter he received from the department announcing his membership. The letter went on to order the 23-year-old to report two days later to Sayville for a parade and a tournament. </div> <bR> <div> "We were always a great tournament team, winning the state championship the year after I became a member," Mr. Bartunek said proudly in his clear, strong voice. </div> <bR> <div> The department celebrated the 100th anniversary of the formation of the company in March at the Birchwood Restaurant, and also honored Mr. Bartunek's years of service that same evening. </div> <bR> <div> All members of the department are known as Reliables these days, said Captain Nick Luparella. "The department was formed in 1836 by a group of citizens, but the Reliables were organized on March 1, 1904," the captain said. "It was known as Riverhead Hose Company No. 1, and then on Nov. 24, 1908, fireman Stanley Duvall proposed the members be called the Reliables." </div> <bR> <div> About his nonagenarian colleague, Capt. Luparella had two words: "Unbelievable man." </div> <bR> <div> Mr. Bartunek, the father of Riverhead Councilman George Bartunek, was born in Astoria on Aug. 5, 1911, to an Austrian immigrant whose grandmother had paid his fare to come to America. The father moved his family to the area of Marcy Avenue and Parkway Street, where Alvin Bartunek still lives. "He was in the wholesale flower business and found a place here with good water and access to a rail line to get his flowers to market," he said, adding he carried on his father's business. </div> <bR> <div> He remembered Marcy Avenue "as just a wagon track with horses' hooves chopping up the road." His ambition to be a firefighter was kindled by watching men at work fighting blazes. </div> <bR> <div> "They didn't keep people as far away from fires in those days," Mr. Bartunek said, describing fires as community events where people showed up either to lend a hand or just watch. "My father woke me at four in the morning when the courthouse was burning on Griffing Avenue in 1926." </div> <bR> <div> His most memorable event as a firefighter was when the wooden school on Roanoke Avenue was totally devastated in 1938, striking a tragic blow to the community. "It was built in 1912 and was the most modern school building east of Brooklyn," the firefighter said. </div> <bR> <div> He never was injured and "can't remember" any of his colleagues being seriously hurt. "We were a bunch of sensible guys, and when you got down to brass tacks we were all pretty knowledgeable," he said, adding that training was good in his day "but nowadays they really train." </div> <bR> <div> Another memory that came to mind was bringing two puppies back from the dead. "There was this fire in some buildings near where the high school is now and when we got it turned around, two poor puppies were pulled away and laid out," Mr. Bartunek remembered. "I gently put my boot on their flat stomachs, and by giving them a few pumps each they were soon up and running around." </div> <bR> <div> A simple rescue, but "it could have been some kids' puppies, so we saved them for someone," he said. </div> <bR> <div> His wife died in January at age 91, and his daughter, Diana, currently is visiting from Colorado. His son visits every day but when his daughter returns home the firefighter will be on his own again. </div> <bR> <div> "I don't get lonesome," he said, adding that he's a happy man. "I cook pretty good, and prefer to eat in because I can eat when and where I want and the service is always good." </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="a_half_century_of_service"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>A half-century of service</B></div> <div> By Jeff Miller     03-18-2004     <A HREF="http://timesreview.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://timesreview.com">News Review</A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="262" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 298 WIDTH="256"><div> <IMG SRC="4e9fad10.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="209" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Bill Brooks Jr. with the proclamation and awards he received last Tuesday night when he was honored for his 50 years of service to Riverhead Fire Department. The recliner he's sitting in was a gift from the department. </div> <div> News Review photo by Barbaraellen Koch </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> This is a big month for William Brooks Jr. of Calverton. Today (March 18) is his 76th birthday. And last Tuesday (March 9) he was honored for 50 years of service to the Riverhead Fire Department, receiving armfuls of commendations, including one from President Bush. </div> <bR> <div> Bill Brooks is part of a firefighting family. His father was a 62-year member of the department, and his mother, now 92, was a longtime auxilian. His son Bill III was a department member before he moved to Florida. His other son, Kevin, is a member of the Reliable Engine Co. His niece, Connie Kwasna, is a captain in the fire police. And his nephew, Ray Kwasna, is yet another Riverhead fireman. </div> <bR> <div> Bill himself is a member of Eagle Hose Co. No. 4, "the best company in the fire department," he said, adding, "but we all say that." He became company secretary in 1958, then moved up the ranks to captain in 1964-65. </div> <bR> <div> Eagle Hose No. 4 is the Polish Town company. In the old days, "they all used to be Polacks, like me," he said. The family name, Brokowski, got changed when his grandfather came from Poland. </div> <bR> <div> "We've got one helluva good fire department here," said Mr. Brooks. "In 50 years, I don't think we've lost 10 people, far as I know." He said the Polish Town crew has always been known for fast response, partly because everyone lived so close by. </div> <bR> <div> "We lived right across the street from each other," said Stanley "Tat" Zambriski, 81, a 54-year member of the department. "We'd jump out of bed and meet out front and go to the fire. He's a very good guy, and a very good fireman. We were all good. We thought a lot of the fire department, and tried to do a good job. And I'd say we did." Both men still answer alarms all the time. </div> <bR> <div> And both of the old friends noted that firefighting is better and safer these days. "Years ago, we didn't have Scott air packs," said Mr. Brooks. "And there were no cabs on fire engines." Once, en route to a barn fire, the firetruck got stuck in a snowbank on Osborne Avenue. "The barn burned down while we sat there freezing," he said. "Ice was hanging off our noses." </div> <bR> <div> Like a lot of the Eagle Hose crew, Mr. Brooks and Mr. Zambriski were once members of the Polish Town Terrors, a group of boys dedicated to high spirits and mischief. "We never got in trouble too much," recalled Mr. Brooks. The worst thing was a Halloween prank that involved some stairs at the fairground. "They caught us, but nothing much happened. We knew all the cops." </div> <bR> <div> As a young fireman, Bill Brooks made his mark with the fire department drill team, the Iron Men. "I held the state record for individual ladder [4.6 seconds] for a year, until somebody beat me," he recalled. "Guy named Callahan from the West End. He was a big tall guy. I'm a little short guy." </div> <bR> <div> Mr. Brooks modestly avoided mentioning his skill as a musician, but Mr. Zambriski obliged. It seems Mr. Brooks occasionally played guitar and imitated country singer Johnny Cash. One night at a fire department dinner, somebody shouted, "Hey, Johnny, go home and get your guitar." His wife, Mary, vetoed the idea. "If you get that guitar, I'm going to break it over your head," she said. And later, during an opportune moment, when his back was turned, she did just that. But she apparently swung a little harder than planned. "She didn't mean to hurt him, just misjudged a little," said Mr. Zambriski. Bill was fine. The guitar wasn't. </div> <bR> <div> That story was one of many told at the ceremony for Mr. Brooks last week. "It was a very good night, and a very good feed," he said. "Prime rib -- great." And Eagle Hose Company No. 4 presented him with a reclining chair, "as requested by the honoree." </div> <bR> <div> Asked if the chair is comfortable, he said, "Comfortable? Oh, boy!" But he doesn't plan on reclining all the time. When offered congratulations for his 50 years of service, Mr. Brooks replies, "I'm gonna try to do another 50." </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="he_s_one_class_a_act"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>He's one class "A" act</B></div> <div> by Denise Civiletti     <A HREF="http://timesreview.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://timesreview.com">News Review</A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="262" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 290 WIDTH="256"><div> <IMG SRC="78efabc0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="188" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> 50-year fire service veteran Vinnie Golembeski (left) holds the statue presented to him by Riverhead Firefighters Association president Rich Gadzinski at a ceremony held at the Riverhead Fire Department's Second Street headquarters Tuesday night.</div> <bR> <div> News-Review photo by Denise Civiletti</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> When Vinnie Golembeski joined the Riverhead Fire Department in 1954, the world -- and the town -- were very different places. </div> <bR> <div> Volunteer firemen -- there were no female firefighters back then -- were called to duty by the blare of a siren, not with the sophisticated communications equipment in use today. The Riverhead department had far fewer fire trucks to respond to fewer calls. Firemen rode to fires clinging to the backs and sides of speeding vehicles. And use of respiration equipment was a rare occurrence before the proliferation of the now commonplace synthetic materials in homes and workplaces that give off toxic fumes when they burn. </div> <bR> <div> One of the few things that hasn't changed in the fire department over the last half-century is the dedication of its membership, and, quite notably, that of Mr. Golembeski, who marks his 50th anniversary as an active duty volunteer firefighter this month. His fellow volunteers paid homage to his decades of service as a volunteer firefighter with a special ceremony before the department's regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening. </div> <bR> <div> But the 77-year-old Riverhead resident, an ex-chief and former fire district commissioner, isn't even thinking about slowing down. "He is the top responder in this department," said Skip Beal, a 42-year member himself. "He's still a 'class-A' firefighter. That means he passes a physical fitness test to demonstrate that he's in shape to wear full bunker gear and breathing apparatus to go inside burning buildings." </div> <bR> <div> Mr. Golembeski said he stays in shape by working out at a gym every morning. He beamed proudly as his comrades paid tribute to his efforts over the years as a member of Washington Engine Co., and as a catalyst in Riverhead's very active fire prevention program. </div> <bR> <div> Supervisor Phil Cardinale was on hand to present Mr. Golembeski with a proclamation declaring Feb. 10, 2004, "Vinnie Golembeski Day" in the Town of Riverhead. Representatives of County Executive Steve Levy and the Firefighters Association of New York also presented Mr. Golembeski with proclamations. Mr. Golembeski also collected plaques and tributes from the Board of Fire District Commissioners, the Washington Engine Co., the North Fork Firefighters' Association, the Riverhead Fire Department fire prevention committee and the Riverhead Firefighters' Association. </div> <bR> <div> "We've had some great chiefs and great commissioners," said association president Richard Gadzinski, gesturing to the framed portraits of past and present leaders of the department that decorate the walls of the department's second-floor meeting room. "And Vinnie's one of them." </div> <bR> <div> Riverhead Fire Chief Kevin Davis saluted the senior member's years of service and continuing vigor. "After 50 years of service, we can only hope to do half of what Vinnie does for us," he said. </div> <bR> <div> "It's been an honor and a pleasure for me," Mr. Golembeski told the packed meeting room. </div> <bR> <div> He's quick to point out that he's not alone; the department boasts a number of members with 50-plus years of active duty in "the fire service." One 64-year member, Harold "Smokey" Schaeffer, was on hand for the meeting. Mr. Schaeffer noted with a smile that he isn't the oldest member in the department. "Alvin Bartunek, the councilman's father, is also over the age of 90," Mr. Schaeffer said. "So this young man has a long way to go."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>