The Montauk Fire Department is extremely sad to report that Craig Tuthill, Ex-Chief of the Montauk Fire Department, passed away on Friday, August 17, 2016 at North Shore Hospital, with his Family by his side. “Things will never be the same around here without Craig”, said Chief Joe Lenahan about Craig’s sixty-three years of uninterrupted service to the community of Montauk.
Mr. Tuthill, who was a fixture at the Montauk Fire House, was known to some as “signal 4” (the call sign for “everything’s under control”). He was even better known for his calm demeanor.
Craig started his volunteer career with the Montauk Fire Department on January 27, 1954. Through his sixty-three years of service, he rose through the ranks, held a broad variety of positions, and received many certifications in the fire and emergency service areas.
Ex-Chief Tuthill was a member of Engine Company #2 for thirty years, and served as its Captain in 1958 and 1959. He was also a member of Truck Company #5, and, in 2007, he moved to Fire Police Company #6. He was a charter member of the Montauk Ambulance Squad and served as its secretary for several years. In addition to his official service to the MFD, Craig was also its House Man for many years, during which time he actually lived at the Fire House. He became a certified Public Safety Radio Dispatcher, and would dispatch fire and ambulance calls from the Fire House before the days of unified dispatching. Craig held Training Certificates in many areas, including: HAZMAT training, arson/bomb investigation, heavy rescue, incident command systems, aerial device operations, and marine fire operations, just to name a few.
In addition to being a wealth of information about the physical plant of the Fire Department, he was also an expert in the Department’s history. He took great pride in the Department and played an instrumental role in both the 50th and 75th Anniversary celebrations. According to Craig, one of his proudest days was the day he was honored in 2014 as the Grand Marshal of the Montauk Fire Department Parade, which celebrated the Department’s 75th Anniversary.
In speaking about Ex-Chief Tuthill, Chief Joe Lenahan said that he will be sorely missed, not only by the Montauk Fire Department, but by all Departments on Eastern Long Island. It’s hard to believe that we won’t be hearing Craig’s famous “Hey, Babe!” greeting any more.
On behalf of the men and women of the Montauk Fire Department, Chief Lenahan would like to express our condolences to the Family of Craig Tuthill.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Montauk Fire Department on October 22, 2016, from 5 to 9 p.m.
