How's this for Longevity?
Nine members of Eagle Hose have at least 50-years of service
By Tim Gannon 09-18-2008 News Review
Nine men, more than 425 years of combined volunteer services and lots of memories.
Nine volunteers with the Riverhead Fire Department's Eagle Hose Company have each been fighting fires more than 50 years. And one has been at it for 60.
The company reached that plateau this year when three members entered their 50th year, bringing the total to nine. The company has 32 members overall.
Riverhead volunteer firemen who have served 50-years or more with Eagle Hose Company No.2
Shown seated (from left) are Frank Sendlewski, 60 years, John Kobylenski, 57 years, Stan Zambriski, 55 years, and William Brooks Jr., 53 years. Standing (from left) are Bob Taylor, 53 years, Larry Taylor, 51 years, Lou Waski Jr., 50 years, Joe Pipczynski, 50 years, and William Bilski, 50 years.
News-Review photo by Tim Gannon
Joe Pipczynski, a 50-year member, said he believes Eagle Hose may have more 50-year members than any fire company in the state, if not the country, and that all the 50-year members are still active.
The list of members with service over the half-century mark also includes Frank Sendlewski (60 years), John Kobylenski (57), Stan Zambriski (55), William Brooks Jr. (53), Bob Taylor (53), Larry Taylor (51), Lou Waski Jr. (50) and William Bilski (50).
Several of the men said their fathers were founding members of Eagle Hose, and that their entire families have served in the fire department.
Eagle Hose Company was formed by 12 men from Polish Town on Oct. 15, 1915. All of its original members were of Polish descent. In fact, the group initially conducted meetings in Polish and kept minutes of those meetings in Polish, according to a history of the company on the fire district Web site. Leo Zambriski, Stan's father, was the first foreman of that group.
Having the older firefighters around has benefited the whole company, said Bill Kelly Jr., the current captain of Eagle Hose. "They do a lot to support the officers and we learn a lot from them," he said.
"Eagle Hose Company has always been known for having father-son combinations," said Ed Carey, a former department chief and Eagle Hose Company member. Mr. Kelly's father also is a former chief and current chairman of the board of commissioners of the Riverhead Fire District. The company's second lieutenant, John Tradeski III, is the son of a former chief as well as the grandson of a former chief.
"When we got in, everybody's father was a fireman," said Bob Taylor, himself an ex-chief. But some say it's not as easy to keep that tradition going.
"I'm the last of nine by the name of Bilski that belongs to this fire department," Mr. Bilski said. His father, brother and two uncles also served in Eagle Hose Company, but his own sons live elsewhere.
Mr. Pipcyznski said he, Mr. Bilski and Mr. Waski all grew up together, played football together and were in the "Polish Town Terrors" together. He and Mr. Waski both joined the department in August 1957 and Mr. Bilski joined in July 1958.
The men said the camaraderie with the other firefighters is one of the best parts of being in the department, but they said there's more to it than that.
"People think that the fire department is easy. It's not easy," Mr. Zambriski said. "When that whistle blows, you don't know if you're coming back."
Mr. Kobylenski, a former captain of Eagle Hose Company, recalls that when he was young, the fireman carried hoses to fires in a two-wheel cart that they pulled. He said he recalls more than 200 big fires that he's seen over the years. He even compiled a four-page list of them.
"We had two airplane crashes, a lot of woods fires and fires on the duck farms," he said. Many of the buildings in Polish Town had fires over the years.
Mr. Brooks said he joined in 1954, when firefighters wore five-gallon water tanks on their backs while fighting woods fires. "They didn't last too long," he said. "You had to go back to the truck and fill them up and go back again."
Big fires also were a lot more common years ago then they are now, Bob Taylor said.
"There were no fire codes then," he said. "We used to run 112, 113 major fires a year. Now we get between 10 and 20. We used to be running constantly."
Larry Taylor joined in 1953, but moved to New Jersey for a few years before moving back to Riverhead.
"In 1953, I almost lost my life," he said. He and several other firefighters were fighting a barn fire. "The roof collapsed just as we got out," he said.
Mr. Waski said when he joined in 1957, the Hamilton Avenue firehouse had just been built. The prior firehouse, on the same site, was moved down to Parkway Avenue and is now the VFW hall.
The Riverhead Fire Department as a whole has 25 members with more than 50 years experience.
As for whether Eagle Hose's nine 50-year members is tops in the state or nation, it's not certain.
"I can't really say," said David Quinn, chief administrative officer of the Fireman's Association of the State of New York. "I did one recently in Rensselaer where we had eight members, so my sense would be that this is not totally unique, especially with a volunteer demographic that's growing older. But I don't know of any agency keeping track of such numbers."