Hundred years of saving lives

The FDNY’s Engine Company 302 has been saving lives in Queens for 100 years, and on Tuesday, October 23, its century of dedication was recognized.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Chief of Department Salvatore J. Cassano were on hand at the company’s firehouse at 143-15 Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park to present a plaque recording the milestone. Current and former members of Engine 302, their friends, families and a throng of onlookers gathered to honor the company.
“People come to Queens from all over the world because they want a safe and peaceful environment in which to raise their children,” said Scoppetta, addressing listeners in a speech. “The men of 302 help them achieve that important goal every day.”
“We’re not just here to celebrate the past hundred years,” said Stephen G. Humenesky, the Queens Trustee of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. “We also look forward to the next hundred.”
As the company with the primary responsibility of protecting JFK Airport, 302 has responded to some of New York’s worst plane crashes, including Eastern Airlines Flight 66, which killed over 100 people when it crashed in 1975, and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001, which killed 260 people just weeks after 9/11.
“Dedication and Sacrifice” seemed to be an unofficial theme at the ceremony, invoked most notably by Engine 302 Captain Anthony Varriale.
“My 30 years of service has taught me that to be a successful firefighter, you need those two qualities,” said Varriale, who listed past members of the company who gave their lives - the ultimate sacrifice - in the line of duty. Varriale called September 11, 2001, “both the worst and proudest day” of his career.
Family was another theme often invoked in the remarks of those in attendance, most of whom felt Engine 302 was a family all its own.
“People wonder why we call the fire department a ‘family,’” said Humenesky. “It’s because we work, sleep and live together, as a family.”
“It was a very close-knit house when I was here,” said Brian O’Boyle, a member of Engine Company 302 in the 1980s. “The tradition of dedication and sacrifice seems to still be here today.”
Hector Faberlle, Jr., represents the middle generation of a family who has served at Engine 302 for three generations. His father, Hector, Sr., fought fires for 33 years until 1986, and his son, Danny, is beginning his career now.