Photos by Richard Lewin Professional Photography (soniboy@aol.com)
Hello and welcome to the November edition of the Montauk Fire Department Corner. I trust everyone has been enjoying our beautiful fall weather, and had a nice Columbus Day Holiday Weekend and Halloween.
On Friday, October 11th the Montauk Fire Department held its annual Inspection Dinner. The event was held at Gosman’s Restaurant and, as always, the Gosman family put on a fantastic show for all of us. Close to 200 people attended including our personnel, and dignitaries and guests from our neighboring Fire Departments. A little history about this event and why it is called an “Inspection Dinner”. Many years ago the Montauk Fire District voted to purchase class A uniforms for Department personnel. Class A is the most formal mode of Fire Department dress, with appropriate long sleeve shirt with all assigned insignia, dress coat, pants and belt, lace-up dress shoes, four-in-hand tie, black or dark blue socks, a bell-toe cap and white gloves. At the time, the question arose as to how to be sure everyone’s uniform was up to standards and presented the Department in the best light. That has morphed into this event, when all Department members wear their class A uniforms and are inspected by the Department Chiefs. As part of the evening several awards and honors were given out, including:
Fireman of the Year: Will Hamilton
EMT of the Year: Bill Hoffman
Company of the Year: Company No. 3
Congratulations to all!
On Sunday, October 13th we had two events that we combine every year at the Fire House.
Starting at 8:00 a.m. we co-hosted a Pancake Breakfast with the Montauk Lions Club. This event is conducted annually for the sole purpose of raising money to fund the Montauk Senior Citizens Holiday Dinner in early December. It always amazes me, but never surprises me, that these two organizations from Montauk donate so much of their time and energy to give back to the elderly citizens of our community. This is a tradition that has gone on for many years and I am confident it will continue for many years to come. To coincide with this event the Montauk Fire Department hosted an Open House as part of Fire Prevention Month. This is a great way for the public and the members of the Department to get together. I like it because it gives our members an opportunity to show the public our facilities and equipment. Please enjoy the photographs of these two events provided by Honorary Chief Rich Lewin.
On Sunday, October 20th the Montauk Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary sponsored their annual TYLER PROJECT Talk-a-thon. This annual event raises money for the Tyler Project, which is named for our late MFD brother Tyler Valcich. His family started this program which has been very successful in working with similar agencies and groups to identify youths at risk. As always the Ladies Auxiliary did a great job, had a nice turnout and raised some money. Thank you, Ladies, for this and all you do for the Department.
This will wrap up this month’s edition of the Montauk Fire Department Corner. I hope you all have a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving with your family and friends. See you next month.
~ David Ryan, Chief, Montauk Fire Department
