…Photos by Richard Lewin Professional Photogrphy (soniboy@aol.com)…
Welcome to this month’s edition of the Montauk Fire Department Corner. I trust everyone had a safe, pleasant and enjoyable Mother’s Day. Also, I hope that you had an opportunity to get ready for the Montauk Music Festival weekend which kicked off on May 16th. This event has really turned into a big weekend for Montauk, bringing in a lot of great music and music fans to our community. Special thanks to Ken and Sue Giustino, Montauk Sun publishers, who put on this event every year.
The arrival of spring is means that the busy summer season is just around the corner. I’d like to share a few safety tips, in case you have an emergency that needs a fire/police response:
– If you are opening your house for the summer or you are renting a house for the summer, make sure that the smoke detectors are all working, and that fire extinguishers are easily accessible.
– Know your surroundings. If you are in a motel or rental home, know the address and/or call back number(s) in case you have to call 911.
– When walking/biking on the roadways, please be sure that you are walking against traffic and riding your bike with traffic, stay alert and obey traffic/pedestrian signs.
– Pull over for all emergency vehicles: Fire, Police, and Ambulance. When you hear an emergency vehicle approaching, safely pull over to the shoulder of the road and allow the vehicle to pass.
– Please don’t follow closely behind any emergency vehicle.
These few tips and your common sense will make you summer safer and more fun.
We had some visitors from San Diego, California recently. Jude Pena and his little sister Zelda took a tour of the Montauk Fire House and had a great time. Please enjoy the photographs of their trip provided by their mother, Karli Ecker Pena.
On Sunday, May 5th the Montauk Fire Department hosted the annual Volunteer Fire Department Memorial Service. The service, at Saint Therese Catholic Church was attended by the Officers, men and woman of the surrounding fire departments, Amagansett, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Montauk, Sag Harbor, and Springs. Montauk Fire Department Chaplain, Bill Hoffman, and Father Tom Murray officiated and a wreath was presented to 
each Fire Department in memorial for our volunteers who passed away in the last year. I want to thank everyone who participated in this event.
On Thursday, April 9th Company 4 held their meeting/dinner at the Montauk Lighthouse Café. It was a beautiful evening, at a great setting. Please enjoy the photos of the Company 4 gathering provided by Alan Burke.
Here are a few statistics for the month of March 2019:
– The Montauk Fire Department responded to 40 calls for service in March of 2019, which is 9 short of March 2018.
– Included in these calls were 23 medical emergencies, 6 of which were drug/alcohol related, several motor vehicle accidents, investigations into odors of gas, and general fire alarms.
– 12 of these alarms were between the hours of 8:00pm and 6:00am.
– Highest responders for the month were Captain Dustin Lightcap, 23 calls, EMT Chris Waterman 20 calls, and LT. Bob Mautschke with 18 calls.
Once again I can’t thank the men and women of the Montauk Fire Department enough for their continued tireless efforts in volunteering for our community.
That’s it for this month’s Montauk Fire Department Corner. Enjoy the rest of the spring and get ready to have a fun safe Fourth of July in Montauk.
Until next month,
~ David Ryan, Chief, Montauk Fire Department
