A Night for NYC Volunteer Firemen’s Association Honorees

On Saturday, April 5, the Volunteer Firemen’s Association of the City of New York (VFACNY) hosted its annual Officers Installation Dinner at the Belle Harbor Yacht Club, celebrating 141 years of service.

Guests were welcomed with an address from Master of Ceremonies Chief of Department James Morton, Rockaway Point Volunteer Fire Department (RPVFD). A recruitment video followed.

The National Anthem was performed by Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department’s (BCVFD) Captain James McCabe. Father Michael Gelfant, Chaplain of the Rockaway Point and Roxbury VFDs, then gave an invocation.

A brief history of the VFACNY was presented by BCVFD Ex-Chief Ed Wilmarth III, who also serves as VFACNY Historian for the NYC Volunteer Fire Departments.

Chief Morton introduced Chief Daniel Cavanagh, Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department, who is entering his 10th term as VFACNY President. Cavanagh presented the evening’s honorees, FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker, who was represented by First Deputy Commissioner Mark Guerra, and NYC Councilwoman Joann Ariola. Both were presented with a gold-leaf high-eagle helmet front modeled after the original 1884 VFACNY logo. The shields were mounted in shadow boxes, which also featured the names of all current VFACNY member departments.

Commissioner Guerra and Councilwoman Ariola each spoke about the strong family-like bond between the FDNY and NYC’s Volunteer Fire Departments, and reaffirmed their commitment to continued support. They also announced a major operational enhancement. All VFACNY departments will be receiving FDNY teleprinters, the same alert system used by FDNY firehouses and apparatus, enabling faster and more coordinated responses to alarms.

Chief Morton then introduced Hon. Judge John Ingram, Honorary FDNY Battalion Chief and Commissioner of the Point Breeze VFD, who installed the 2025 VFA officers.

President Cavanagh closed the evening by thanking the members of all NYC volunteer fire departments for their dedication and service, and expressed appreciation to the night’s distinguished guests and honorees. A special floral presentation was made to the wives of the elected officers, as well as to the female honorees and distinguished guests.

The VFACNY extended thanks to their honorees, distinguished guests, and the chiefs, officers, and members of our volunteer fire departments for attending. These included Mark Guerra, FDNY First Deputy Commissioner, Councilwoman Joann Ariola, Minority Leader and Chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, Phyllis Inserillo, Chief of Staff to Ariola, Chief Joseph Duggan Jr., FDNY Brooklyn Borough Commander, Chief Kathleen Knuth, EMS City South Operations, Paul Wilders and Robert Leonard, Nassau County Fire Service Academy, Michael Krummenacker and Robert Ottaviano Jr., FASNY Board of Directors, Father Michael Gelfant, and Kings County Supreme Court Hon. Judge John Ingram.

They also gave special thanks to Chief Steve White of Richmond Engine, event photographer, and DJ for the evening, Chief Brian Kelly of Edgewater Park.

The VFACNY notes, “Since 1884, our organization has stood strong—call by call, generation after generation. We do it for our communities. We do it for each other. We’ve always been there. Be there with us.”

According to Wilmarth, “Before the creation of the paid Metropolitan Fire Department in 1865, which would eventually become what we know today as the Fire Department of the City of New York (or FDNY), the residents of this city were protected by the vigilant members of the Volunteer Fire Department of the city of New York.

“Dating back to at least 1736, these brave men battled not only some of the largest fires in our cities history but also forged through some of the most tumultuous times in our nation’s history as well. From the Revolutionary War to the corruption of Tammany Hall, or the regiment of New York City volunteer firefighters known as the Fire Zouaves who fought on the front lines during the American Civil War, the Vollies were always combat ready.

“The volunteer firefighters of New York City are also credited with inventing or perfecting many of the firefighting tactics and tools that firefighters worldwide still implore today. The spirit of these brave firefighters still lives amongst the members of the Volunteer Firemen’s Association of the City of New York.

“On Friday, February 22, 1884, in a meeting held at the Village House at the corner of Bank and Hudson streets in Manhattan, the last Chief Engineer of the volunteer fire department of the city of New York, John Decker, organized the Volunteer Firemen’s Association of the City of New York. It was comprised of the living former members of the 52 engine companies, 54 hose companies and 18 hook and ladder companies that had made up the VFDNY.

“The VFACNY was originally intended to be a social club for the former Vamps to meet up once a month, reminisce of the glory days of the past, and to own a meeting hall to display their history in, but it quickly became more than that.

“Before long, they became a powerful organization with both political influence and national respect. But by the 1910s-1920s, the original firefighters of Manhattan’s volunteer era had moved or had passed away, leaving the VFACNY dormant. Many of their displayed items were either lost, destroyed, or donated to museums.

“It wasn’t until 1953 that the 11 remaining volunteer fire companies in New York City’s outer boroughs re-organized the VFACNY. They were Aviation Vol. Hose Co. 3 of the Bronx, Broad Channel Vol. Fire Department of Queens, Edgewater Park Vol. Hose Co. 1 of the Bronx, Gerrittsen Beach Vol. Fire Department of Brooklyn, Oceanic H&L Co. 1 of Staten Island, Point Breeze Vol. Fire Department of Queens, Richmond Engine Co. 1 of Staten Island, Rockaway Point Vol. Fire Department of Queens, Roxbury Vol, Fire Department of Queens, Silver Beach Vol. Fire Department of the Bronx and West Hamilton Beach Vol. Fire Department of Queens.

“These departments would reinvigorate the camaraderie that once existed amongst the original NYC Vollies and help create the VFACNY we know today. The VFACNY has secured millions of dollars in funding to improve our member departments communications and equipment, as well as their training, recruitment and retention of new or prospective members. Our organization is not only surviving but thriving with our eight member departments in a time where volunteerism is down nationwide.

“The members of our volunteer fire departments have been on the front lines battling alongside the FDNY in some of the largest events in both NYC and American history, just like the volunteers of long ago.

“From 9/11, through Hurricane Sandy, to the COVID-19 pandemic, the current Vollies have been just as vigilant and combat ready as our predecessors. The Volunteer Firemen’s Association and the New York City Vollies are the shining example that good people still exist, and that the time-honored tradition of American citizens volunteering to not only risk their lives but, in some cases, make the ultimate sacrifice so that others might live, is still possible today.”