Photos by Richard Lewin Professional Photography (soniboy@aol.com)
Welcome to this month’s Montauk Fire Department Corner. I hope everyone is having a great fall season. The weather has been exceptional, and it’s a nice time to be in Montauk.
I am happy to report that this year’s blood drive, hosted by the Montauk Fire Department in conjunction with the American Red Cross, was a great success. On Tuesday, September 23rd from noon to 6:00 p.m., there were over 110 pints of blood donated to our local blood bank. This is a record for us and goes a long way towards keeping our blood supplies up in case of an emergency. I am very proud that many of the folks donating blood were Members of the Montauk Fire Department. I would like to thank Fireman Jon Forsberg who has been our chairman of the blood drive for many, many years. Through his efforts this important event is always successful. A big thanks to Sam Joyce, Jr. and his crew for providing delicious meals to all donors.
You may remember that in July the annual Montauk fireworks were cancelled when piping plovers were found nesting too close to the area where the fireworks were to be shot off. The rescheduled fireworks were on full display on Saturday, October 11th to coincide with the Montauk Fall Festival. As always, the Montauk Fire Department had a contingent of fire trucks, ambulances, and our Company No. 6 Fire Police on hand to assist with this event.
On Sunday, October 12th the Montauk Fire Department and the Montauk Point Lions Club held our annual pancake breakfast at the firehouse. This is a great event that is always well attended. Our pancake breakfast is not only a nice time for locals and visitors alike to enjoy a hearty helping of pancakes, but it is also a fundraiser to help defray the costs of the annual Senior Citizens Holiday Dinner that is held at the firehouse in early December. Thank you to Firefighter Tom Dess who returned from his new home in North Carolina to chair this event. On the same day, the Department hosted an open house for all those who wanted to attend. It just happened to be on the same day as our recent Nor’ester that blew through Montauk on October 12th and 13th, but that didn’t deter some great kids from Montauk from eating pancakes and checking out the fire trucks.
On October 19th, MFD Ex-Chief Mickey Valcich and his Family honored their late son Tyler with their annual Tyler Valcich Memorial Classic Car Show on the Amagansett Fire House grounds. Hundreds of cherished vehicles and their proud owners were on display for visitors to enjoy. Entry fees benefited their Tyler Project Foundation (tylerproject.org), that provides suicide education.
That’s it for this month’s Montauk Fire Department Corner. I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween. We’ll be back next month with more info regarding the Montauk Fire Department.
~ Peter Joyce Jr., Chief, Montauk Fire Department
https://www.montaukfiredistrict.org/