Willers reflects on busy FD year

Richard Tedesco

With a fatal house fire and natural disasters including a blizzard, a hailstorm and a tropical storm, John Willers’ year as New Hyde Park Fire Department chief was unusual even by the job’s standards.

“It was a busy year,” said Willers.

“I can’t say I’m not glad it’s over because it was busy,” he added.

Assistant Chief Robert Von Werne will be taking over Willers’ command when his term concludes at year’s end.

Willers said he leaves the job with a feeling of satisfaction for the good work his department did.

“It was rewarding for me. I’m proud to be the chief of the department in their community. They do a good job,” Willers said.

And now?

“I’ll go back to driving a truck,” said Willers, who is a member of Active Hook & Ladder Co. 1.

Willers, a 34-year veteran of the volunteer fire department and an assistant chief for four years, said the fatal fire was the incident that stands out in his mind.

“I can’t remember another fire where we had a fatality,” Willers said

The fatality occurred early on the morning of Feb. 6, when an explosion rocked the Seventh Avenue house of a 79-year-old man who had been smoking cigarettes in his bedroom where he had an oxygen tank.

By the time firefighters arrived, moments after the house exploded into flames, it was engulfed and there was no hope of saving the man.

Two days earlier, a basement fire in a Sixth Avenue house fire seriously injured New Hyde Park volunteer Max Devacne. Fellow firefighter Sean Carton was briefly hospitalized for smoke inhalation and Devane is now recovered from his injuries, but the memory lingers.

The 51-year-old Willers said the occasion of the two fires in succession left him “stunned” at the time.

“We take what we learn and try to not let it happen again,” he said. “Hopefully our guys learned a lesson from that.”

The fire department took suggestions from a state inquiry conducted on the basement fire and has instituted new procedures to deal with such situations, Willers said.

Before the fires, there was the post-Christmas blizzard that required volunteers to report in shifts in case of emergencies. The tropical storm that struck in late August prompted 36 hours of service for the New Hyde Park volunteers, with much of the work simply requiring them to police downed, burning wires until power could be turned off to permit removal of downed trees.

“There’s nothing we can do until the power’s turned down,” Willers said.

On Aug. 1, the fire department had to mobilize to deal with the freak hailstorm that produced severe damage, including downed wires. That day, the fire department rescued people from an elevator in Stop & Shop on New Hyde Park Road.

During his tenure, the fire department secured a $6,000 grant through Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello for new carbon dioxide meters. It also received a $96,000 federal grant for training and new equipment. Eight new volunteers were added to the ranks this year as well.

The end of his term in office was marked by a contentious fire commissioner election that saw incumbent fire commissioner Richard Stein defeat Anthony Vaglica, who had been terminated as a volunteer in the department for misconduct two years earlier. Willers said the election gave members cause for reflection on their primary mission.

“It made them realize we’re here to serve the community. And all personal agendas should be put aside,” he said. “It’s like a family almost, even with its dysfunction.”

Reflecting on his own particular mission for the past year, Willers said the toughest part of his job is “to make sure everybody gets along so you can get the most out of them.”

Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204

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