49. William Louis Ferber (1978-1979)
Served 2 Years
William Ferber was born April 5, 1920, in Brooklyn and was the son of Louis and Anna (Klingel) Ferber. They moved to Hicksville in time for Bill to attend High School here. He married Jeanette Vilim in June of 1944.
Bill was a veteran of World War II serving from January 1942 through September of 1945.
Bill joined the department as a member of Independent Engine & Hose Company 2 on June 13, 1961, and was given badge 687.
Bill worked very hard for his Company, serving on many Committees on both the Company and Department levels, which gave him the insight to leadership knowledge. This proved to be a very important background for he served his Company through all line officer positions and was served as their Captain in 1966 and 1967 before he was elected 3rd Assistant Chief in 1972.
He has served the Department well in each of the Assistant Chiefs positions and was elected as the 49th Fire Chief in 1978 and 1979. Bill worked for the Town of Oyster Bay in the Central Vehicle Maintenance Department as a welding engineer.
When Bill was elected Chief, there was a shake up in the Assistant Chiefs office. James Huttle and John Keyer had competition and were replaced by Richard Kershow, William Donlon and the new 3rd Assistant Chief was Owen Magee.
During Chief Ferber’s term there were several events that were notable.
In 1978 workers from MD Cesspool Company were finishing up a new cesspool adjacent to the old one. One worker was down inside the new cesspool when the walls of the old pool collapsed flooding the new one. Firefighters went down to help his co-worker. One firefighter Thomas Sullivan, at great risk to his own life, entered the cesspool attached a lifeline on one of the victims and with the help of other fast arriving firefighters removed him from the pool. Both workers suffered from inhalation of methane gas. Sullivan wore no protective breathing apparatus because it wouldn’t fit in the hole.
Twelve firefighters were injured, six of them seriously, when a two-gallon can of gasoline exploded as they were battling what seemed to be a routine car fire at a home located at 5 Waters Avenue. The explosion was forceful enough to knock many of the responders off their feet. Injured were firemen, Les Snediker, Mike Palmer, Bobby Johnson, Dominick D’Antuono, Robert Chiz, Joe Giardina and Captain William Schuckmann.
Four firemen were injured seriously while two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries when the wall of a burning vacant barn collapsed on them at 20 Field Avenue. The fire was called shortly after 6:00 AM on January 21, 1978. As firemen were beginning to enter the burning structure, the main beam of the building collapsed causing the wall to give way. Firefighter Nick Caruso, Engine 7 broke his back and was trapped, and Lieutenant Gil Cusick suffered a puncture lung and broken wrist. Firefighter John Hanifan Jr. and Lieutenant Krummenacker suffered broken ankles.
A general alarm was transmitted early February 22 when a passerby noticed smoke pouring from the Doino’s Tire Service Building at 544 Old Country Road. Firefighters were hampered by thick smoke when they entered the building and found a pick-up truck inside, fully involved in flames. They quickly moved to cut off the fire from the main tire storage area. After the roof was vented, firefighters moved in and doused the blaze.
A fire at the Newmark and Lewis store on South Broadway, on July 2, caused an estimated $25,000 damage. The fire started outside the rear of the store in rubbish and spread to wooden skids. The fire extended inside through windows to the stockroom. The sprinkler system was set off and a fire on the roof was found and extinguished. An electric transformer was destroyed in the blaze and accounted for half of the damage total.
A fire, whose origin was termed suspicious, caused an estimated $175,000 in damage. The fire was reported by a passerby on March 30th located at 380 South Broadway. The address housed the law firm of Kantor, Blodnic, Vogel, Haber, and Wolf. Also located in the building was a Chiropractor, a Council Service “Cope’’ and a Plumbing and Electrical Contractor. Chief Ferber credited a fast and efficient attack by firefighters in keeping the damage confined. The damage consisted of smoke and water damage, forced doors and broken windows. The law firm suffered a total loss including its Law Library.
A general alarm blaze at the Pax Surface Chemical Co. was transmitted on April 23rd. The firm, located at 24 Max Avenue, off Woodbury Road, had several types of chemicals stored. The building was unoccupied upon arrival and firefighters unaware of the dangerous chemicals inside, entered to fight the blaze. The building had no posted warning signs and firefighters used SCBA, but the men were still affected. It was estimated most of those injured were the first ones to enter the building. Firefighters could not get at the fire because it was blocked by drums of chemicals and a small truck. Shortly after the blaze, many firefighters started to get sick and were transported to the County Medical Center. The chemicals involved were caustic soda, chromic acid, succinic acid sodium cyanide, sodium sulfide, phosphoric acid, and copper cyanide. Damage to the building was estimated at $10 million dollars.
There were three separate fires at the Empire Diner located at the intersection of West John Street and Jerusalem Avenue. The first working fire was on June 25th and reported by the diner owner. The first attempts to fight the fire were by diner employees using a garden hose. The fire spread throughout the duct system and the automatic extinguishing system failed to operate. Firefighters vented the roof, removed most of the duct work, and had the fire under control in about 90 minutes. Damage was estimated at $50,000.
Less than two weeks later a second fire caused an estimated $15,000 damage when the fire started in almost the same area as the first fire. Firefighters once again kept the fire confined to the kitchen area. Several months later a fire broke out on December 8th, the third such fire in six months. This fire, as were the past fires, was in the kitchen area. A seriously delayed alarm, while employees again fought the fire with a garden hose and numerous pots and pans, the fire caused moderate damage to the kitchen and rest room area. The department was alerted to the blaze by a passing security guard. Fire officials felt that if the employees had reported the blaze when first discovered, damage would have been much less.
An early morning blaze at the General Instrument Corp, 600 West John Street caused an estimated $6.5 million dollars damage. The alarm on August 9th started in a machine in the Lab. The machine was used to make silicon micro-computer chips. The automatic sprinkler activated but could not contain the blaze. The fire extended to the roof area above the Lab and firefighters were hampered by high voltage electric bus bars which shorted out in the ceiling. They had to contend with containers of acid in the fire area. A decontamination station had to be set up as a precaution so firefighters working inside could wash. The roof had numerous ducts and vents that did not make for easy access to the fire area. Six firefighters were taken to the County Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation and released.
The snow and ice storm of 1978 became the home away from home during the heavy snowfall that stranded motorists and commuters. The stranded were picked up by fire units who patrolled the Hicksville area and remained on stand-by duty for over 48 hours.
During Chief Ferber’s term, he found himself guiding the members in sad times. For the first time since World War II, the Department did not participate in the Memorial Day Parade. A fire took the lives of firefighters from Bethpage. Firefighters withdrew from the community’s Memorial Day parade to attend the burial services and to provide fire protection, for the Bethpage Fire Department. Two Bethpage Firefighters, Captain Joseph Dunn, 28 and Robert Hassett, 21, both died in a fire at the Brothers 3 Pool Supply store on Hempstead Turnpike, May 25th. The cause of death was listed as chlorine poisoning. A former employee was charged, after he admitted setting the blaze after being fired from his job at the pool supply outlet.
It was not that soon after when the tragic news of the death of six New York City Firemen occurred in a fire at Waldbaum’s in Brooklyn. Among the dead are Harold Hastings, a Hicksville resident. Mr. Hastings, who had served in the FDNY was on the roof that collapsed beneath him, plunging him into the inferno below. Firefighters from all over came to Long Island to honor the fallen comrade. Firefighter Hastings was buried at Pinelawn National Cemetery with honors and Hicksville firefighters assisted other firefighters carrying him to his final resting place.
During his term two new cardiac “thumper” CPR machines were placed into service. These new machines perform the life-saving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation automatically assuring uninterrupted CPR while the patient is prepared for transportation in stairways, (where manual CPR is almost impossible), or while administering life.
In July of 1979, the department received its newest addition. This new 100-foot aerial tower was assigned to Protection Hook & Ladder Company One and was placed in service in August. The truck replaced the 1969 Sutphen 85-foot aerial tower.
It was during this year that the Chiefs created a newly adopted percentage program for all members. Due to the increasing number of EMS alarms that were being handled by the members, the Chiefs Office set up a Group 1 and Group 2 program. Group 1 was Companies 1, 3, 5, and 7 and Group 2 was the even number Companies. Each group was charged with EMS alarms during the Assigned Group which were the odd months in Group one.
Chief Ferber passed away on October 10, 1991, and he is interred at the Cemetery of Holy Rood in Westbury.
Chief Ferber is shown with Chief Mertz (above left), at a building fire (above right) and leading the department at a Labor Day Parade with Assistant Chiefs Kershow, Donlon and Magee.