Engine 285/Ladder 142 in Queens Celebrates 100 Years

Father Josephp Hoffman Blesses Centennial Plaque is Blessed During Ceremony

FDNY Firefighters past and present joined together at the quarters of Engine 285 and Ladder 142 in Queens on May 8 to celebrate their 100 years of service to the residents of Ozone Park and all of the surrounding communities in Queens.

The centennial for the firehouse comes during the year-long celebration of the FDNY’s 150th anniversary.
This firehouse was one of many opened in Queens in the early 1900s as the FDNY expanded throughout Queens and the paid, professional Department began to replace existing volunteer companies.

“Inside the walls of this firehouse, generations of Firefighters have learned from each other, mentored new Firefighters, and insured that the traditions of this Department – the core values we are built on – of honor, dedication and service never waver,” said First Deputy Commissioner Robert Turner
In recent years, members of this firehouse were awarded the highest medal for bravery in the Department, The James Gordon Bennett Medal, with Firefighter Anthony Romano receiving it in 2009 and Firefighter Michael Czech awarded his in 2010.

“Individual recognition is incredible, but it speaks to the overall training and preparedness of these companies at every job,” said Chief of Operations John Sudnik, adding that the “willingness to go towards danger, rather than away, is what defines us as a Department.”

Five members of Engine 285 and Ladder 142 have lost their lives in the line of duty.
In 1923, Lieutenant James Griffin of Engine Company 285 and Firefighters Michael Hanley and John Dunne of Ladder Company 142 were killed by an express train while aboard the apparatus responding to a call.  Robert Smullen of Ladder Company 142 also lost his life in an accident while responding in 1966.  Thomas Earl of Engine 285 Company was killed by a roof collapse while fighting a fire in 1976.
Firefighter Ray York of Engine Company 285 was working at the FDNY Fire Zone at Rockefeller Center on the morning of September 11th, 2001.  He responded to the World Trade Center, losing his life along with 342 other members of the Department.

Firefighter David Sears of Engine Company 285 spoke about the members who have made the supreme sacrifice, adding, “We miss them every day but especially on a day like today. They may be gone but we know they are here in spirit.”