By:Nicole Falco
When the call for volunteer firefighters sounded in the community, more than 50 men answered it. On July 2, 1929, the Cochran Place Firehouse was dedicated, and Engine Company #3 became an official unit of the Valley Stream Fire Department. Emil Raising served as the company's first captain, and Archibald Seaman as its first lieutenant. Seventy-five years later, the men and women of Engine Company #3 continue to answer the call to duty. The company is the fifth oldest in the department.
"I believe that if the members who first formed this company 75 years ago were here today, they would be very happy and very proud of what we have been doing for 75 years," said the company's captain, Walter Weltner Jr., a third-generation firefighter and former chief of the department.
This Saturday, the 29 men and one woman of the company, as well as their families, the department chiefs, former chiefs, department officers and local elected officials, will gather to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary at the Coral House in Baldwin.
Recently, members of the company were praised for saving the life of an elderly man during the blackout last August. The company was the first to respond to a fire at the man's Wood Lane home, and was instrumental in making sure the blaze was extinguished quickly and did not spread to an adjacent home. The company can expect even more praise on Saturday, from local officials, on behalf of the community, from local officials. But the members don't do what they do for applause.
"We're here to fight fires," said Walter Weltner Sr., the company's senior member, with 51 years of service. "That's why the company was formed - that's why the building was put up. We're a good bunch of guys and one lady, and we're a very compatible group of people who work hard together for the community."
Whether a fire erupts in the middle of the afternoon, during dinner, in the pitch black of a regional power outage or in its own firehouse, Company #3, as well as the entire department, is available to answer the alarm. On Dec. 6, 1969, a fire that started in the attic of the Cochran Place firehouse destroyed the building. Luckily, no one was injured, but the company was temporarily relocated to the Brooklyn Avenue Firehouse while a new facility was built.
The members moved into a temporary home in the rear yard of their old property in April 1970, and in July 1971 a new home was dedicated. Members consider their firehouse a proud part of their heritage, Weltner Sr. said, adding that they are also proud of the fire apparatus they maintain. Two fire trucks were saved from the 1969 fire. One of them, a 1969 open-cab Mack truck, was used after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and carried two firefighters to their final resting places. One of those firefighters, Lt. Peter Martin of New York City's Rescue 2, had been a lieutenant in Engine Company #3.
Though all of the company's charter members are gone, there are four surviving former chiefs: Richard Kaufmann, who served in 1976; Charles Parker, who served in 1983; Frank Dell'Anno, who served in 1987; and Weltner Jr., who served in 1995. It can also boast being home to three honorary chiefs of the department, including Weltner Sr., Richard Lehmann, who has 46 years of service, and Thomas Danza, who has 42. Deborah Bove, a member for 19 years, is the lone woman in the department.
"It's an honor to be here for the 75th anniversary," Weltner Jr. said. "I believe each of our members feels the same way. We've always managed to stick together and do what is expected of us for the community and for the department."
