LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Estates
Engine Fire Company No. 3, New Hyde Park Fire Department

WHEREAS, Fire departments are an integral part of community protection
services in every locality of our State; during the past 75 years, the
courageous and devoted firefighters of the Estates Engine Fire Company
No. 3, New Hyde Park Fire Department, have valiantly responded to all
types of fire emergencies and have won the praise and respect of the
community which they serve; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proud to commemorate the 75th Anni-
versary of the Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3, New Hyde Park Fire
Department, and to honor its past and present firefighting members for
75 years of fire protection to the citizens of New Hyde Park, New York,
and its surrounding communities; this auspicious occasion will be cele-
brated on Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Westbury Manor in Westbury,
New York; and
WHEREAS, In the early 1940s, real estate development surged in the
Lakeville Estates community in North New Hyde Park; a group of concerned
new homeowners felt that the community needed a fire company which was
closer to the neighborhood and, subsequently, they appealed to the New
Hyde Park Fire District to allow them to form a new fire company; and
WHEREAS, In December of 1941, the Estates Hose Company was officially
chartered, just as the United States was entering World War II; and
WHEREAS, The first firehouse building, a small wood-frame garage which
was heated with a coal stove, was donated to the new Company and was
trucked to the site; Chaplain Leon Korrell reminisced that charter
members would chip-in to purchase a bag of coal to heat the firehouse
during meetings and drills; and
WHEREAS, By 1943, the building was moved to the gas station located
next door and the current building was constructed; the Estates men
responded to their initial calls with a 1926 Federal hose wagon, a hand-
me-down from the Protection Engine Company; and
WHEREAS, The first new engine purchased for the Company was a 1946
Mack, followed by a 1955 Mack Model B, a 1969 Young Crusader, a 1983
Mack CF and a 1996 3-D; and
WHEREAS, The 1969 Young Crusader was the first engine to be painted
white, an Estates tradition which has been upheld ever since; currently,
a state-of-the art, white, 2010 Crimson pumper, is assigned to the
Company; and
WHEREAS, Leon Korrell was the longest surviving active charter member
of the Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3, serving with distinction for
63 years; he is fondly remembered for his kindly demeanor and for his
many years of service as Department Chaplain and, in 1991, he was
appointed as an honorary Chief in celebration of 50 years of service;
and
WHEREAS, The oldest known surviving charter member of the Estates
Engine Fire Company No. 3 is Edward Graham who served from 1941 until
approximately 1950; on the occasion of his 100th birthday, members of
the Company traveled to Florida, to participate in his birthday cele-
bration and ceremoniously appointed him an honorary Captain of the
Company; and
WHEREAS, In addition, Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3 charter
members include Frank Cloke, Eugene Vorhies, Patrick McCaffery, Thomas
Reifenheiser, Herman Becker, Robert Brown, William Furry, James Finne-
gan, Edward Fosdick, Charles Hanson, Theodore Herschfeld, Hubert Mason,
Asa Masson, Fred Mastendino, Francis McCarthy, Howard Naughton, William
Nunke, George Reich, Wilfred Sauve and George Wile; and

WHEREAS, With a membership of dedicated firefighters, the record of
the Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3 in public service and fire
protection is one to be envied; for 24 hours a day, for 365 days a year,
for 75 years, whenever the alarm sounded, these noble volunteers left
their homes and went to the aid of their neighbors; and
WHEREAS, The brave firefighters of the Estates Engine Fire Company No.
3 are prepared to risk their lives every day to help save the lives of
others and to protect homes and property from the destruction caused by
fire; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the skill and devoted service demonstrated by
individual firefighters, the Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3 reflects
the history and development of firefighting over the past 75 years; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body cannot express sufficient gratitude to
those devoted individuals who recognize that the preservation of life
and property is a sacred responsibility and who make that responsibility
their own by serving as firefighters; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that we should give
special recognition to those who work so assiduously for the betterment
of their communities, and acknowledge publicly the heroic good works
performed by the volunteer fire departments of this great Empire State,
their officers and auxiliaries; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
proudly commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Estates Engine Fire
Company No. 3, New Hyde Park Fire Department; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Estates Engine Fire Company No. 3, New Hyde Park Fire
Department.