Massapequa Chamber Honors Volunteer Firemen For Exemplary Service

Lauren Feldman

editors@antonmediagroup.com

Last month, the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce convened at Sal’s Place for the Volunteer Firefighters of the Year Awards Ceremony. This ceremony is held to honor the bravery and outstanding service and dedication of volunteer firefighters from the Massapequa and North Massapequa Fire Departments. Beginning the ceremony was Chamber President Robert Zabbia. “This is a big day for us,” he said. “The more people we have involved, the more we can do. So we like to recognize those who make our community so special.”

Presenting first was Chief William Monjardo of the Massapequa Fire Department. He heartily thanked the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce for continuing to host such a special and important event. “The Massapequa fire department… it may go unnoticed, but we are extremely busy. Last year we did 2,851 runs. We average about 8 calls a day. We do a lot of running around that sometimes gets lost in translation, and people don’t really understand how much the volunteer fire departments do on Long Island.” He mentioned that, the day of this ceremony, his office had already received 6 calls before noon.

Monjardo was presenting to two recipients: one firefighter of the year, and one fire medic of the year. The former honoree was Ex-Captain Thomas Burke of Rescue Company 3. “Ex-Captain Tommy Burke is a member of our EMS company. He served as captain and has over 15 years of service.” Even after resigning as Captain, Burke has remained extremely active in the department; going on calls, making patient contact, dealing with patients, and training new members. Burke’s continued service to his fellow firefighters and community, even throughout Covid, made it crucial to honor him with this year’s award.

The second Massapequa Fire Department member to be honored was Ex-Captain Phillip Piarulli of Ladder Company 2. Monjardo celebrated the longevity of his service. “Ex-Captain Phil Piarulli is a member of the Massapequa Fire Department for over 37 years.” He smiled, “Maybe older than some of the people in this room!”

Piarulli is a retired New York City Firefighter, and has training in hazardous materials operations and technical rescue. While he is no longer a member of Ladder Company 2 in Massapequa, he still serves administratively for the department, including training its new members and operating as a member of the safety committee as an officer. “He’s involved in everything, and he’s our go-to guy in the firehouse for anyone who has questions,” Monjardo stated.

Following this presentation was the North Massapequa Fire Department. The awards were presented by the District Commissioner Frank A. Nocerino, who is himself an Ex-Chief. He prefaced that while the North Massapequa Fire Department is not as busy as the Massapequa department, they certainly see to a fair amount of calls – about 1,050 to 1,100 each year – meaning the work done by volunteers remains crucial to the safety and well-being of the community. First to be honored was ExChief John McCormack of Ladder Company 1. “McCormack is going to have 50 years under his belt come September,” Nocerino was happy to report. “He is also retired FDNY; he was chief of our department during 9/11 and was very active with the inbound companies at the Trade Center.” McCormack is also heavily involved with the driving and training of new department members.

“The youngest, and final, honoree of the day was Firefighter Louis Robustelli of

Engine Company 3. Robustelli is three years into the department, but has been making waves with his drive and dedication. He is extremely active in the branch. “He’s probably one of the most active people we have right now,” Nocerino said. Robustelli is on the department committee, and attends as many classes as possible at the fire academy in Nassau or Suffolk, and sometimes even going into the city just to learn. Nocerino was proud to announce, “[Louis] is going to be one of our next lieutenants, come April, and he is also going to become a New York State Trooper.”

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino was also in attendance to give his congratulations. “We are so blessed in this town to have people who will run into danger to protect our lives and our property. You are all amazing, you are all our heroes, and we appreciate you very much.” Saladino also introduced several colleagues and New York government members who wished to share his sentiment.

First to speak was Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, who mentioned her time as a senator carrying a lot of legislation for the fire department. She also took some time to train with new recruits and experience the training fires they used to practice. After training through fire after fire, she said she finally began to understand what some of these men and women go through. “The heat, the danger, the discomfort! Just to protect us all. So any time there is an honor to give [firefighters], I will be there.”

New York State Senator Alexis Weik was also in attendance, and recounted the story of when her house caught fire. She was 8 months pregnant with her first child, and had to evacuate the house while it was being re-built. “We had some wonderful volunteers respond and save our house at a really vulnerable time in our lives. The work you do touches everyone’s lives, and even if you don’t know them, know that we appreciate everything you do.”

State Assemblymen John K. Mikulin and Mike Durso were also in attendance. “The sacrifices that you make… when they call, and you answer. The sacrifices you make to save innocent lives are so appreciated, and we cannot thank you enough,” said Mikulin. Durso, himself a certified first responder, concurred. Addressing Monjardo, he said, “Chief, I want to take exception to one thing you said before; it was about how we may not have noticed how busy you are. Believe me when I say that all of us here, we notice, and we thank you. Whether it’s 4 am or 4 o’clock in the afternoon, you answer the call, and without all of you we would be less safe.”