Bellmorite feted as top firefighter

When John Curley arrived at a raging fire on Nov. 12 last year, he thought he would pull a dead body out of the burning Bellmore home. 

Curley was with his son, John Curley Jr., on the morning of the blaze, driving a department pickup truck to retrieve a new boiler to replace one that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy for Engine Company No. 2 in south Bellmore. But at 7:39 a.m., when the department got a call about a “house fire with occupant trapped” nearby on Shore Road, the former chief responded. 

One of the residents, a man in his 60s, told Curley that his 92-year-old mother was trapped in their burning home. “I thought she was already deceased because of the intensity of the fire,” he said. “Knowing that a person burning to death is horrible, I just wanted to get the body out of there.” 

But thanks to the firefighter’s resourcefulness and bravery, Bellmore Fire Department officials said, the woman was rescued and survived the blaze. The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York recognized Curley’s efforts by honoring him with the Firefighter of the Year award at its annual convention. 

Founded in 1872, FASNY represents more than 92,000 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel in New York. At the organization’s 141st convention in Albany, Curley, a 44-year-old New York City firefighter and Bellmore volunteer, was awarded a medal of valor, along with FASNY’s EMS Provider of the Year, Karen Haab, a 50-year-old advanced emergency medical technician with the Springs Volunteer Fire Department. 

FASNY President James Burns noted that this was the first time his organization presented the Firefighter of the Year and EMS Provider of the Year awards to two Long Islanders in the same year. At the Aug. 23 ceremony, Burns said he was pleased to honor the two for their extraordinary acts of heroism.  

“There is no better way to end a great convention week than by honoring two of our members for their extraordinary efforts to save lives,” he said. “First-responders risk their lives each and every day to help our fellow neighbors in their most dire times of need.”