As supervisor for the Town of Hempstead, most of my days are spent minding the store. I regularly meet with department heads to keep abreast of how their operations are currently running and to discuss plans for future projects. On a regular basis, I review the town's budget to insure that we remain in a sound fiscal position. For the most part, these are the functions of any responsible CEO of a multi-million dollar company. However, every so often, I am privileged to be able to honor citizens who have performed extraordinarily. One of these special events occurred at Hempstead Town Hall just the other day.

On Thursday, July 8, an explosion leveled a home in Point Lookout. The sole resident of the house, Edith Scully, was trapped inside the burning house. Edith had been thrown from the chair in which she was sitting and pinned under the wreckage when the second floor collapsed on her. Hearing the tremendous explosion, four workers from nearby construction sites and one local chef rushed to the house. Timothy Casazza, Keith Kotler and Marc Marceau from Cobra Home Improvements Corp. were joined by Fredy Carrera, a private contractor, and Mike Spinelli, the chef at the Lazy Pelican. At their own peril, they entered the burning house in search of Ms. Scully. Once they located her, four of them lifted the collapsed ceiling while Mike Spinelli pulled her out and carried her outside.

Neighbor Megan O'Brien, an emergency medical technician and member of the Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department, was already waiting outside. Once Edith was brought out, Megan quickly applied dampened sheets to her body, administered other lifesaving techniques and called for a helicopter to airlift Ms. Scully to the Nassau County Medical Center.

Responding to the explosion, the Point Lookout-Lido Fire Department and fire departments from seven surrounding areas (Baldwin, Freeport, Long Beach, Oceanside, Merrick, North Bellmore and Uniondale) immediately began efforts to contain the fire from surrounding properties. Town of Hempstead employees from the departments of Public Safety, Conservation and Waterways and Parks and Recreation also assisted in the effort. Town employees directed traffic away from the area, hastily supplied equipment from nearby locations and coordinated efforts with other municipal agencies. Once the fire was extinguished and allowed to cool, Town of Hempstead Highway and Sanitation personnel removed debris from the site and swept the street clean.

In recognition of their outstanding efforts, the town awarded medals to the six individuals who aided Edith Scully. Each fire department was given a citation commending its contribution, and town employees were also recognized. It was a wonderful ceremony attended by friends and neighbors of the honorees and Ms. Scully.

On a sad note, the day following the ceremony Edith Scully passed away.

The members of the town board and I were pleased to be able to recognize these individuals who responded to the tragedy and performed heroically.