By Andrew Coen
The street that parallels the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department was named Kevin O'Rourke Way in honor of the fallen firefighter, who volunteered for many years at the firehouse.
The Rev. Paul Rahilly of St. Joachim R.C. Church in Cedarhurst spoke of the significance of bringing people together in the midst of tragedy. While he did not go to war, the results of war came to him, said Rahilly of O'Rourke. Our world is still not in peace, so often divided by hatred. Our country [is] divided so often by pettiness and yet even our community, Lord, is divided at times by pettiness.
This day we ask that each of us is given the courage and the strength to change so that the streets we walk and the streets we name, the monuments we build and the monuments that help us remember will remember this day also, the day we had the courage to change for peace, he added.
The ceremony took place in front of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, where O'Rourke got his start as a firefighter in 1975 before moving on to the Hewlett Fire Department and New York City F.D. in Brooklyn's Rescue 2, the unit to which he was assigned when he responded to the World Trade Center. O'Rourke was one of the first to rush into the Twin Towers to rescue as many victims as he could.
This was where he started off, at the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, so to have him remembered by them is very, very special, said his widow, Maryanne, before the ceremony. If there was anything good from the whole tragedy, it's the fact that all the people have been so good ... she said. I'm very happy that they decided to do this for him, and he would be very honored.
Before the dedication, Nick Velardi, a friend of the O'Rourke family, said, Kevin was a good guy. He always had a smile on his face and helped everybody.
The event touched people not just in the Five Towns but globally as well, as London native Phillipa Goldberg, who was visiting her daughter in Far Rockaway, was one of those on hand for the dedication after stopping on Central Avenue to have lunch. I know how we felt in London, and I can't begin to imagine how everybody felt in New York, said Goldberg. I just find this very overwhelming.
As you can see by the amount of people that are here today, Kevin was very special, said Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Chief John Heidrich. I just remember Kevin saying, ÔWhat do you need, brother?' and we got it. He was very special, very low-key, was not very outspoken, did his job and we could always count on him. We'll dedicate this street and let Kevin's name live on.
Captain Phil Ruvello of Rescue 2 in Brooklyn also said a few words about what O'Rourke meant to the community. My recollection of Kevin and the way I will always remember him is his deep abiding concern about everybody else's feelings, said Ruvello. He really cared Ñ he cared about the community, he cared about the people he didn't know in the community. He was willing to go an extra bit just to make sure that they were taken care of.
Ruvello encouraged people to think of O'Rourke as more than the great firefighter he was. When you walk down the street and you see these street signs or you see this plaque and you say, ÔLook, here's Kevin, he was a great fireman,' think more, think further than that, because he was more than that, he said. His was a great loss to this community because he really did care about other people, and everybody knows it.
Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise emphasized the importance of never forgetting what occurred on Sept. 11. It's events like this that bring us here to remember that we are here to never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11, he said. We're here to never forget our hero Kevin O'Rourke, and it's most fitting that we do it here where he first started as a firefighter.
Maryanne O'Rourke thanked the Lawrence-Cedarhurst and New York City fire departments for the support they have provided her and her family since the tragedy. [Since] day one the New York City Fire Department and the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department have been there for my family, and we will always be grateful, she said.
After the speakers, family members gathered around the new plaque honoring O'Rourke in front of the firefighter monument, as America The Beautiful was played on bagpipes.
Rahilly and Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence spoke about the meaning of the monument. This monument will help us appreciate not just who Kevin was, but who all of these great firefighters were, said Hain.
The plaque reads: May the roads rise to meet you, may the winds always be at your back and until we meet again may God hold you in the hallow of his hand.
The crowd strolled to the corner of Washington and Central avenues to officially unveil the new Kevin O'Rourke Way sign. The sign designates the area of Washington Avenue between Central Avenue and Broadway.
Members of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department announced at the dedication that they have established an annual $1,000 scholarship fund for a Lawrence High School student in honor of O'Rourke.
Cedarhurst Village officials are in the midst of fund-raising for a 9/11 memorial in Cedarhurst Park, which will contain the names of several local victims, including O'Rourke, Firefighter Joseph Rivelli Jr. of Inwood, State Court Officer Thomas Jurgens of Meadowmere Park and Port Authority Chief Neil Levin of Atlantic Beach.
Pictured Above: From left, O'Rourke's brother Dennis Jr., mother Hanna, daughter Jamie, wife Maryanne, daughter Corinne, father Dennis Sr. and sister Patty O'Keith with the new plaque that honors Kevin O'Rourke, in front of a monument that honors all fallen firefighters. Maryanne and her daughters hold the sign for Kevin O'Rourke Way, which will adorn Washington Avenue between Central Avenue and Broadway parallel to the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, where the 9/11 hero started his career as a firefighter.
