[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 83 (Friday, June 7, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1034-E1035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            A TRIBUTE TO THE BROOKHAVEN FIREFIGHTER'S MUSEUM

                                 ______


                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 1996

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
Brookhaven Volunteer Firefighters Museum and to the founders of this 
wondrous historical preserve, dedicated to the heroic tradition of 
volunteer firefighting in the Town of Brookhaven, Long Island. These 
devoted men and women turned their collective dream into a poignant 
legacy of the history of volunteerism in Brookhaven's 38 fire 
departments.
  Officially dedicated on Saturday, May 25, 1996, the Brookhaven 
Volunteer Firefighters Museum is a wonderfully fitting tribute to the 
generations of heroic volunteers who, time and again, answered the call 
for help and selflessly put themselves in harms way to protect their 
neighbors and communities. Within the walls of this 100-year-old former 
fire house is an impressive storehouse of memorabilia and apparatus, 
historical photos and old newspapers clippings from the earliest days 
of organized firefighting. Included in the museum's collection are 
eight antique firetrucks, an original 1890 Hook and Ladder cart from 
the Bellport Fire Department and a century-old portable fire 
extinguisher donated by the Brookhaven Town Highway Department. There 
is also an amazing array of original fire shields, nozzles, hoses, and 
alarm bells.
  But more than just a dusty collection of antiquated equipment, this 
museum shelters within its walls the memories of heroic deeds, of

[[Page E1035]]

lives saved and property safeguarded by ordinary men and women who 
fulfilled an unspoken obligation to their community and country.
  The firefighters' commitment was never more evident than it was in 
August 1995, when thousands of volunteers fought the two most 
destructive wildfires to strike Suffolk County this century. These 
heroic volunteers put their lives on the line while battling brush 
fires that consumed nearly 4,000 acres of Pine Barrens in Rocky Point 
and Westhampton. Miraculously, not a single human life was lost in the 
fire and the total property damage was kept to a minimum.
  Though the heritage it preserves is grand, the genesis for the 
Brookhaven Firefighters Museum is more modest. The idea was born more 
than 5 years ago when a group of longtime friends and volunteer firemen 
decided they needed to preserve the history of local firefighting for 
their own children and grandchildren.
  The museum's board of trustees and founder raised all of the funds, 
solicited the artifacts, secured the building and located the property 
where the museum stands. The Brookhaven Firefighters Museum's trustees 
are: president, Joseph Sommers; vice president, Lee Bunten; treasurer, 
David Waldron, Jeff Davis, Susan Savochka, Gene Gerrard, Robert 
Collins, Robert Poucel, Ed Corrigan, Robert Wilson, Richie Adams, 
Ronnie Magagna, Artie Read, John Austen, John Blaum, Sr., and Robert 
McConville.
  Appropriately, the museum building was originally built in 1889 to 
serve as the Center Moriches Fire House. The former fire house was 
being used as a warehouse by the Center Moriches Paper Co. when the 
company donated the building for the museum. With the help of a State 
grant, the museum's board of trustees had the former fire house moved 
the 15 miles from Center Moriches, on Long Island's South Shore, to its 
current location at Fireman's Park in Ridge.
  As you enter Fireman's Park to visit the museum, you will notice a 
line of 38 monuments along the roadside, one each from every fire 
department in the town of Brookhaven. That section of road is known as 
Fireman's Way, the path each visitor will pass through on their way to 
any of the fire drill competitions held at Fireman's Park. Those 
monuments are reminders of the sacrifice and commitment that volunteer 
firefighters have made for their communities in Brookhaven Town.
  For the thousands of volunteer firefighters who have saved lives and 
property throughout the history of Brookhaven Town, and Long Island, 
the Volunteer Firefighters Museum preserves their magnificent legacy of 
sacrifice for their children and grandchildren. May this wonderful 
museum serve as a reminder of their heroic efforts for many years to 
come.

                          ____________________