A statue of a firefighter commemorating the first responders lost in the World Trade Tower attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 will be dedicated at the Williston Park Firehouse on Memorial Day.
The ceremony, which will be conducted by the Williston Rotary Club and the Williston Park Fire Department in a simple ceremony on May 28 at 11 a.m., will conclude a lengthy effort to find a home for the statue.
The members of the Greely Centennial Rotary Club and the Rotarians of District 5440 in Colorado originally commissioned the statue, “Every Day A Hero,” to a fire department in New York City. But they were unable to find a firehouse that would accept the sculpture.
Nancy Zolezzi, president of the Williston Park Rotary Club and the former Mayor of East Williston, credited Mary Ann Fearon, owner of the Whistle Stop on Hillside Avenue with getting the statue donated to Williston Park.
Fearon has a friend who is well acquainted with sculptors Collette and Gary Pitcher, who created the bronze figure of a fireman holding a hose. She suggested a suburban New York firehouse with the space to display the statue – such as Williston Park – might be the ideal place for it.
“They were going to donate it to a New York City Fire Department. But in a New York City Fire Department, where were they going to do it?” Fearon said.
So she began speaking with a friend in Colorado, which eventually led to Monday’s dedication.
The indirect conversation between Fearon, her friend and the sculptors went on for months before a final decision was made to locate the piece at the Williston Park Firehouse.
The details of transporting the statue had to be worked out. And the final details of the statue itself – bearing the helmet of a Williston Park volunteer – had to be composed.
Timothy Joyce, former assistant chief of the department, played an instrumental role in working out that detail with the sculptors, Fearon said.
Having grown up in the village, attending St. Aidan School and owning a business in Williston Park, Fearon is pleased with the result.
“I couldn’t be prouder than to have it where I’ve grown up. I think it’s wonderful,” Fearon said. “It’s only going to enhance the beauty of the fire department headquarters.”
Eagle Scout candidate and junior firefighter Dylan Perro designed a platform and installation of the statue as his community service project.
No members of the Williston Park Fire Department perished in the World Trade Center disaster, but several residents of the village did.
“The Williston Park Rotary Club has the honor and privilege of dedicating this memorial along with the members of the Williston Park Fire Department on Memorial Day,” said Zolezzi
“We’re privileged to have the statue and have it to put it in front of the department,” said Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar. “It will be a nice addition to the firehouse honoring those who passed away in 9/11.”
