72. Gary Lewis (2020-2021)
Served 2 Years
Gary Lewis was born April 27, 1978, and is the son of Gary and Barbara Lewis. He married Margaret on September 28, 2007, and they have three children, Shawn, Collin, and McKenna. Both Gary and his wife, Margaret, grew up in Hicksville. He started working for the Town of Oyster Bay in the Sanitation Department in 2002 then transferred to the Highway Department in 2005. Gary and Margaret live on Garden Blvd. in Hicksville.
Gary joined the Hicksville Fire Department in 2000 as a member of Citizens Engine Company 3 and then later transferred to Independent Engine and Hose Company 2 in 2003. He became 2nd Lieutenant of Company 2 in 2009 and worked his way up to Captain of Company 2 for the years 2013-2014.
In 2018 Gary was elected to serve as 1st Assistant Chief before being elected as the 72nd Fire Chief in January 2020. His Assistant Chiefs were Christopher Moskos, Joseph DiFronzo and Christopher Wright.
On January 26, 2020, a fire broke out in a one-story warehouse at around 11:50 PM. Firefighters received multiple alarms for a warehouse fire on Burns Avenue, near West John Street. Firefighters arrived with heavy smoke coming from the building and multiple other fire departments were called to help from Bethpage, East Meadow, Plainview, Westbury, Jericho, and Syosset. The office of emergency management was also called. The blaze was extinguished, and all searches were negative.
An alarm was received on May 31, 2020, for a fully involved vehicle fire at the BP gas station at South Oyster Bay Road and Woodbury Road. Arriving units found a fully involved vehicle fire with extension of fire to the pumps. The pumps emergency shut was secured, and fire was limited.
The first few months of his time in the chief’s department went well, then in March the world was struck by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic. This turned the community and its members upside down and put the future on hold. The community of Hicksville saw over 2,300 of its residents test positive and Nassau County and New York State would be the worst hit in the United States. Physically, emotionally, and financially, we all took hits from every direction. We were blindsided by the intensity of the punches, a deadly virus, an economic decline, peaceful and violent protests in the streets and a divisive presidential election. Chief Lewis worked on changing response protocols, protective measures to counter the current conditions.
If it wasn’t bad enough, the Department and community were going through the pandemic, just as businesses were opening and people were allowed back out to establish some sort of normal, there was civil unrest sweeping the country. A Minnesota Police Officer during an arrest placed his knee onto the neck of George Floyd and killed him. George was a person of color, and the police officer was white. This sparked outrage and weeks long protests across the country including Hicksville.
A second wave of the virus came back with a vengeance in the Fall of 2020 and the presidential election went into a tailspin with a new president elected with the highest voter turnout ever. The year was capped with a Covid-19 vaccination that was developed under “Operation Warp Speed” and the first responders were beginning to get vaccinated.
On Wednesday, June 20, 2001, our department received a special call for mutual aid assistance for Engine 932, from the Huntington Manor Fire Department. Firefighter Gary Lewis responded as part of the crew. Upon arrival at the scene, it was observed that there was a large lumberyard fire, inclusive of three structures fully engulfed with fire. Orders were given to secure a water supply and report to the front of the fire building. The crew was able to locate a water supply (hydrant) while two mutual-aid Engine Companies were able to perform change-over operations and assisted in supplying an adequate water supply through 1,400 feet of 5" hose. An additional water supply approximately 1,000 feet from Engine 932, which was also used to feed Engine 932, enabling the engine to utilize a deck-gun operation. While 932 was in operation, the crew was utilized in the rear of the building working with a 2 1/2" hose line to protect exposures, search for additional fire and protect property. Some 10 hours later, the crew was relieved and released late in the afternoon on Sunday. For their actions, the crew went above and beyond what is expected under normal conditions, and used their skills and strength to assist this mutual aid department in their time of need and were awarded a Unit Citation for their work.
In 2018 Chief Lewis was awarded a Certificate of Merit for his actions performed on a drowning victim. At 14:16 hours on August 16", 2018, the Hicksville Fire Department was alerted for a child found in a pool. Upon arrival with Assistant Chief William Efinger and District medic they discovered CPR was in progress. They encountered a 5-year-old boy lying outside the pool on the ground. A woman at the time was giving CPR and then the police took over while the FD was hooking up the oxygen. As soon as Gary was able to get the child slightly breathing the police scooped the boy up and ran him into the police ambulance. While inside the ambulance they worked on the boy with suction and tubing to get the water from his lungs.
Gary was chairman of the carnival/entertainment committee that helped put together the departments 125th anniversary celebration. Chief Lewis was granted Life Active Status in
2021 by the Hicksville Fire Department.
