Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hoses were out and spirits were high on Nov. 2 as the Atlantic Steamer Fire Company of Oyster Bay christened two new fire trucks during a traditional wet down ceremony at the Boathouse parking lot in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park.
The wet down, a longtime fire service tradition, marks the official welcome of new apparatus into a department’s fleet. Neighboring fire departments joined the celebration by spraying water over the new vehicles, a symbolic baptism that has been part of firefighting culture for more than a century.
“It’s basically a christening,” said 2nd Assistant Chief Frank Ozol. “We invite other fire departments to surround our trucks and spray them down. It’s a way to welcome them into service.”
Six neighboring departments took part in the ceremony, including the Oyster Bay, East Norwich, Bayville, Syosset, Locust Valley, and Jericho fire companies. More than 200 people attended the event, which included a blessing by Father Walter Kedjierski of St. Dominic Church and remarks by Atlantic Steamer Chief Francesco Barbera. Local officials, including Nassau County Legislator Samantha Goetz, Town of Oyster Bay Councilmembers Vicki Walsh and Andrew Monteleone, Oyster Bay Cove Mayor Charles Goulding, and Cove Neck Village Clerk Kathy Zoller, also joined the celebration.
The company’s two new trucks, a Pierce Ascendant 107-foot aerial ladder and a Kenworth Rosenbauer 3,500-gallon tanker, replace older vehicles that had served the department for decades.
The ladder truck carries a 500-gallon water tank, a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump, and a roof-mounted water monitor known as a deck gun. It replaces a 29-year-old, 75-foot ladder truck that had long been a workhorse for the company.
“It’s a major upgrade for us,” Ozol said. “With 107 feet of reach, we can access roofs and upper stories much more easily, even when we can’t get close to a building.”
The new tanker, meanwhile, fills a critical need for firefighting in areas without fire hydrants, such as Cove Neck and Oyster Bay Cove. The 2024 Kenworth model, equipped with a custom Rosenbauer body, holds 3,500 gallons of water, seven times more than a standard pumper truck, and features a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump and roof-mounted deck gun.
“In some areas, the tanker is the hydrant,” Ozol said. “We’re one of only two fire companies in Nassau County, along with Bayville, that have a tanker like this.”
The event concluded with a community barbecue, giving residents and visiting firefighters a chance to celebrate together.
“It was a beautiful day, and a great turnout,” Ozol said. “It’s always exciting to see the community come out to support us and to welcome new equipment that helps us protect them better.”
