By Anthony Rifilato
Quackenbush, 50, is reserved but amiable and articulate, unpretentious but confident. If being a fireman is like having two lives, Quackenbush is the perfect example of that dichotomy. He is a working dad by day and a firefighter-hero by night, although he's uncomfortable with accolades.
He recently retired from the Long Island Rail Road after 30 years as a train conductor, but remains an active fireman. And he's not ready to sit in front of a television all day or move to a Florida retirement community.
Quackenbush is staying in Baldwin and recently announced his candidacy for fire commissioner, a position he last held 10 years ago. He left in 1992 after two successful terms, he said, because his kids were growing older and he had greater financial responsibilities.
"I told everyone at the time that I would like to do it again," Quackenbush said.
He is still committed to doing the job, and he is determined to win the election on Dec. 10. In fact, it's safe to say without equivocation that the life-long Baldwin resident will be the next fire commissioner, because he's the only person running for the job.
Commissioner is a coveted spot in the fire department, and the race usually attracts at least two candidates. But the incumbent, Robert Monahan, has chosen not to run for re-election to the five-year post, and others are well aware of Quackenbush's record. If anyone else were to make a run, it would not be an easy campaign against such an experienced candidate with impeccable credentials.
"I'm hoping I'm running unopposed because of my reputation and the things I've done," said Quackenbush. "My core values haven't changed." Those values are steeped in good management and the ability to listen, which Quackenbush said is essential to leading the department.
"If I didn't feel like I could make a difference, I wouldn't run," he said, adding that he's had tremendous support from within the department. "For months I was approached by many people," Quackenbush said. "When everyone found out I wasn't going back to work, they started asking me."
His colleagues said they are supporting their former commissioner. "He's very fair and puts a lot of thought into what he does," said department spokesman Jerry Brown. "Coming from being an aggressive fireman, he knows the needs of firefighters."
The commissioner's main duties are administrative and overseeing the department's infrastructure. He is the steward of the fire district's budget, equipment and personnel. The current board members are the retiring Monahan, William St. George, Michael McDermott, Paul Yanantuono and Frank Esposito.
Quackenbush's first candidacy for fire commissioner was born of an attempt at reform within the department. "We streamlined operations and totally modernized our fleet," he recalled. As a progressive commissioner, something of a maverick, he led the department to adopt state-of-the-art breathing apparatuses, pagers and better protective gear and to became OSHA-compliant.
There also was an attitude change, Brown recalled. "The board was approachable and got along well together," he said.
It wasn't the first time Quackenbush felt he needed to make a difference.
After he graduated from Baldwin High School in 1970, Quackenbush joined the Army, where he reached the rank of sergeant. "It was terrific," he remembered. "I went when Vietnam was winding down, and they needed soldiers to go to Germany to help revitalize NATO. It served me well in managing personnel."
When he returned to Baldwin, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Baldwin Fire Department and became a lieutenant of Ladder Company Two, where he is still active.
In 1981, Quackenbush was the first recipient of Nassau County's Extreme Personal Risk award and was given the Baldwin Fire Department's Legion of Valor award for his rescue of a teenage girl, a neighbor who was trapped in a burning house. The girl might have died if Quackenbush -- who was off-duty at the time -- had not dived into a smoke-filled basement with zero visibility and pulled the burned teen with singed hair out of harm's way.
"You can go a whole career without finding someone," Quackenbush said. "The whole time I was down there I was thinking, I can't leave without this kid. I didn't want to come out without her because I would have wanted someone to make the same effort if it was one of my kids."
Shortly afterward, Quackenbush became a captain, but recognized a need for change within the department. He was just 30 years old when he was first elected fire commissioner in 1982.
The young father was sort of an outsider among the older members of the department. In many ways, his age and victory were not coincidental. During the early 1980s, Quackenbush recalled, there were rifts between the senior members of the department and the younger, more progressive firemen who wanted to make strides in areas such as technology and maneuvers, and also wanted to dismantle the "old guard's" insular hierarchy.
"The younger guys felt the older guys were not moving forward," Quackenbush said. With the support of like-minded colleagues, he ran against a three-time incumbent for the commissioner's seat. Surprisingly, he won by 70 votes. "It was a tremendous change in the direction of the department," he said.
Now, he's revitalized, with a new sense of purpose. "One of the things I dreaded hearing when I was fire commissioner was, 'This is the way we've always done it,'" he said. "That doesn't make it correct."
If part of the purpose of Quackenbush's first run for the position was to bridge the gap between firemen and senior members, the image he created is something he wants to maintain. He said his priority is to listen to his fellow firemen.
"I think the perception of firemen is that the board is unapproachable," he said. "That's what I'd like to change."
Although he stressed that the board members are great guys doing a great job, Quackenbush said the main problem the department has is one of public relations.
As an uncontested candidate, his campaign is made less difficult and is anything but combative. On the contrary, it seems that people have put their faith in the decorated fireman. He is not planning to overhaul the entire department because, he noted, unlike 20 years ago, it doesn't need vast changes -- aside from the public relations problem.
"This time I'm coming in as a peer," said an older and experienced Quackenbush. "I have a knack for forming coalitions and bringing groups of people together. The blend I can bring can only help the board."
