(GLEN COVE, N.Y.) - Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D - Glen Cove) proudly joined leaders of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department, Glen Cove Mayor Timothy Tenke, members of the Glen Cove City Council and the community on Wednesday, March 24 to celebrate the service of the Department’s storied Ladder 5211 truck at a grand sendoff ahead of its move to Ireland.
Ladder 5211 received a Nassau County Police Department motorcycle escort, accompanied by the Glen Cove Fire Department and members of the Nassau County Fire Riders Motorcycle Club, to the Queens County line, where it was transferred to the care of the NYPD en route to the port.
First put into service in 1987 and retired in 2019, Ladder 5211 - a Seagrave Tiller truck - has answered countless alarms and played an instrumental role in the rescue of numerous residents during a house fire at 167 Glen Cove Avenue. The truck was also deployed in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
Officials said that the truck, which was purchased at auction by a private collector that lives in Dublin, Ireland, will be featured at charitable events and will serve a role in an upcoming 20-year tribute to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Before departing Glen Cove for the final time, Ladder 5211 received one final touch - a decal across the windshield honoring the memory of the FDNY hero Terry Farrell - a Dix Hills, Long Island resident who was one of the 343 FDNY members who perished while responding to the World Trade Center.
“The story of Glen Cove FD’s Ladder 5211’s embodies the spirit of selfless, courageous service that makes volunteer firefighters shining stars in Nassau County and across Long Island,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said. “I am delighted that, after more than three decades of faithful service to the residents of Glen Cove, Ladder 5211 will continue to make an impact in Ireland through a new philanthropic mission.”
PHOTO CREDITS - Photos by Peter M. Budraitis