TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, NY – May 27, 2026
In the middle of the night, when flashing lights turn onto quiet Huntington streets and neighbors peek through their windows, most people assume the firefighters and EMTs arriving at the scene are paid professionals. In Town of Huntington, they are not.
They are volunteers — local residents who leave their beds at 2 a.m., walk away from family dinners, pause their jobs, miss holidays, and sacrifice countless hours of their personal lives to answer emergencies for complete strangers.
And they do it without a paycheck.
Across Huntington Township, volunteer fire departments and rescue squads continue a tradition that dates back more than 180 years. Today, however, those departments face a growing challenge: fewer residents are able — or willing — to answer the call.
Volunteer Firefighters in Huntington Are Neighbors First
From Melville Fire Department to Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department, Halesite Fire Department, Centerport Fire Department, Huntington Fire Department and Huntington Manor Fire Department, Huntington’s volunteer departments are made up of ordinary people with extraordinary commitment.
Construction workers. Engineers. Small business owners. Parents. Retirees. Young adults just starting out. They are the same people you see at the grocery store, coaching youth sports, commuting on the Long Island Rail Road, or sitting beside you at a school concert.
But when the pager sounds, they become first responders.
“Most people are surprised to learn this,” longtime volunteers say repeatedly. “When the ambulance or fire truck arrives in your driveway, those people are volunteers.”
The Demands of Being a Volunteer Firefighter or EMT
The public sees the lights and sirens. What they don’t see is the training.
Volunteer firefighters and EMTs spend hundreds — often thousands — of hours learning firefighting techniques, emergency medicine, vehicle extrication, hazardous conditions, rescue operations, and live-fire response procedures.
At the Melville Fire Department, which serves the Northern State and Long Island Expressway, a busy commercial corridor in addition to approximately 7,500 households, volunteers respond to roughly 4,000 calls every year, including fires, highway accidents, medical emergencies, rescues, and mutual aid calls.
Modern firefighting is far more technical than many realize.
Today’s volunteers train in live burn buildings, practice basement fire scenarios, learn rescue operations involving overturned vehicles, and operate sophisticated heavy rescue equipment designed to save trapped victims from catastrophic crashes.
At local open houses, usually held in the spring and fall, some departments demonstrate the “Jaws of Life” during live vehicle extrication drills — showing residents the tools firefighters use to cut apart vehicles and save lives in seconds that matter.
Volunteer EMTs and rescue personnel undergo equally intense preparation. Medical calls now make up a significant portion of emergency responses, requiring advanced training and constant continuing education.
According to longtime members, the level of care residents receive from local volunteer rescue crews is often equal to what they would expect anywhere in the region.
“You Have To Be Willing To Get Up In The Middle of the Night”
For veteran firefighter Frank Mongelli, who joined the Melville Fire Department in 1963, volunteer service has always been about helping neighbors. Back then, he recalls, Melville was still transforming from farmland into suburbia. Firefighters rode exposed on the rear steps of trucks before modern safety regulations and enclosed cabs became standard.
“The guy next to you was helping pull your gear on while the truck was moving,” older members remember.
Today, safety standards are stricter, the equipment is more advanced, and the expectations are significantly higher.
“It takes a lot of time,” Mongelli says. “You have to be willing to get up in the middle of the night.”
Volunteers attend drills, meetings, certifications, and emergency calls while balancing careers and family responsibilities. Departments require members to meet minimum response numbers annually to remain active.
And unlike paid departments in major cities, Huntington’s volunteers do it entirely as unpaid public service.
Why Recruitment Is Becoming More Difficult
Nearly every department across Huntington faces the same challenge: recruiting and retaining younger members. The reasons are complicated, but many point to the same issue — affordability.
Younger families increasingly cannot afford to purchase homes in the communities where they grew up. At the same time, demanding careers and two-income households leave little time for volunteering.
Veteran firefighter Gerard McDonald, who joined in 1970, remembers when many residents worked locally and more households could function on one income.
“Family came first,” he says, explaining how changing economic realities reduced the number of people able to volunteer.
Departments say the issue is not just local — volunteer agencies nationwide are struggling with declining membership.
Yet many Huntington volunteers continue serving for decades because of the camaraderie and sense of purpose the departments provide.
“It’s a community within the community,” members often say.
The Rewards of Volunteer Service Go Beyond Benefits
While volunteer departments do offer some incentives — including tax benefits and LOSAP retirement-style pension programs in many districts — firefighters say the real reward cannot be measured financially.
“It’s the feeling of helping somebody,” one firefighter explains. “If you save someone’s life, that’s a big deal.”
LOSAP programs (Length of Service Award Program) allows long-serving volunteers to build retirement benefits over years of service. Some districts also provide tax incentives to active members.
Still, no one joins for the money.
Younger volunteers like Ramon Santana, a homeowner, father, and newer firefighter, say they joined simply to help people.
“Anything to help the community,” he says.
Others follow family tradition. Some join because friends are involved. Many stay because of the brotherhood and lifelong friendships built inside the firehouse walls.
Huntington’s Fire Departments Have Deep Historical Roots
Volunteer fire service is woven into Huntington’s history.
Huntington Fire Department traces its roots back to 1843, followed by Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department in 1852, Northport Fire Department in 1891, and Centerport Fire Department in 1898.
Other departments followed as Huntington grew:
- Halesite Fire Department — founded 1901
- Greenlawn Fire Department — founded in 1902
- Huntington Manor Fire Department — founded in 1903
- Commack Fire Department — founded 1906
- East Northport Fire Department — founded in 1908
- Melville Fire Department — founded in 1947
- Dix Hills Fire Department — founded in 1947
- Eaton’s Neck Fire Company/Department — founded 1957
Volunteer ambulance and rescue organizations, including Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Huntington Community First Aid Squad, continue that same tradition of unpaid emergency service.
Many departments maintain museums and archives filled with photographs, newspaper clippings, antique equipment, and artifacts documenting generations of local service.
Inside the Melville firehouse, walls lined with historic photographs tell the story of a department that grew alongside the community itself. At the Centerport firehouse, several antique trucks can be viewed in the museum, including one donated by William K. Vanderbilt, who used to visit the firehouse regularly.
Why Huntington Residents Should Appreciate Their Volunteers
Every emergency call represents someone’s worst day. A heart attack. A car crash. A house fire. A trapped family member. A choking child. And every time, volunteers respond. They leave birthday parties, family dinners, work meetings, and warm beds because someone in their community needs help. Many residents may never realize the amount of sacrifice behind those flashing lights.
Huntington’s volunteer firefighters and EMTs hope more people begin to understand, not because they want recognition, because they need the next generation to step forward.
Departments across Huntington regularly hold recruitment drives, community events, parades, and open houses to educate the public about volunteer service and encourage new members to join. Without volunteers, the system that has protected Huntington for generations becomes harder to sustain.
And for the men and women who continue answering the call, the mission remains simple:
Help your neighbors when they need you most.
Sarah H. Brooks is a Volunteer Contributor for Huntington Matters.
Photography by June Margolin.
