Q & A: Anthony DeCarlo, Lynbrook Fire Chief

Anthony “Zemo” DeCarlo was installed as the new Lynbrook Fire Chief last Tuesday after serving the last three years as an assistant chief.

DeCarlo, of Tally-Ho Engine 3, replaces outgoing Chief Michael Hynes. DeCarlo is the nephew of Dominick DeCarlo Jr., a 65-year member of Tally-Ho and a former fire chief and village trustee who at the age of 86.

DeCarlo recently sat down with Patch to talk about his new position.

Patch: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family history?

DeCarlo: I was born and raised in Lynbook and I actually have lived in the house that my family has owned for almost 100 years.

I am a graduate. I have a local landscaping business in Lynbrook. I’ve been with the 20 years and I’m 48 years old, a father of three.

Patch: What inspired you to join the department?

DeCarlo: I was basically inspired to join the department by my Uncle, who was ex-chief, , who recently passed away as a 65-year member.

Patch: Can you talk a little bit more about the relationship you two had?

DeCarlo: We had a very close relationship – some people say we had very similar personalities. We got even closer when it came to the fire department, sharing our stories and me trying to be a chief, and him having been a chief, giving me the heads up on what to watch out for, the situations, things to do and how to do them, all different scenarios. That’s kind of the one thing that kept us bonded. That helped us bond in a lot of ways.

Personally, we also had a good relationship out of the fire department. We always were in some kind of trouble together so it worked out pretty good.

My uncle was a member of Tally-Ho Engine 3 – he happened to be chief on the 50th anniversary. This year with me as chief, it’s the 100th anniversary. We got a little chuckle out of that. That kind of was a laugh for us both.

He taught me to treat your members that you would want to be treated, never look down on anybody, and that there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Patch: What are your main goals as chief?

DeCarlo: The is filled with professionals, extremely knowledgeable people. Basically, there are a lot of members who can teach others. So, my main job isn’t to teach anybody, or teach how to fight fires, it’s to direct the people who know how to do it, to teach others. So everybody works together.

There are people who are 30 year city firefighters in my department. My goal is to pull all of that knowledge out of those people and have the newcomers learn from them. To have the newcomers learn from the old timers.

Patch: How is recruitment going?

DeCarlo: It's going well for this year – we can always use more. It’s very hard these days to recruit members. It’s harder because everybody has two, three or four jobs, times are tough. We are always seeking new recruitment, but this year it’s been on a steady rise, which we’re very proud of.

I am very comfortable in knowing that all of my firefighters are very experienced, and that all of the new firefighters are coming in and getting that knowledge. In my opinion, we have one of the finest departments on the island.

For people that want to join, they could contact the fire department at 516-599-1547 or walk in any Lynbrook firehouse on Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and speak to a company officer.

Patch: Can you talk about the job ex-chief Michael Hynes did?

DeCarlo: He did an excellent job – he accomplished a lot of his goals with the department, and pushed on the training issue in the department. He is a very important man to this department, an asset to the department, and it’s going to be hard to fill his shoes.

Patch: What should residents do to prevent fires?

DeCarlo: They should check their smoke alarms periodically, change the batteries every time you change the clocks. On your battery alarms, it is wise to change the whole alarm every three to four years. They get dust inside them and then become faulty. If you have small children have a family fire drill where everyone knows a possible escape rules and what to do in the situation of a fire.

Patch: How have things changed in the department over the years?

DeCarlo: The training and the certifications, the requirements to be a firefighter have gotten much tougher because we are more knowledge on safety hazards, so we’re more protective on our firefighters sense of training.

For fighting fires, it hasn’t gotten easier, but it’s gotten safer. There are now modern day techniques, machinery to fight fires, which are very aggressive yet safer for us.

Patch: Is there anything else you want to say to residents?

DeCarlo: The residents of Lynbrook should feel very comfortable and very honored that they have a fire department representing the village with members that have so much passion and so much love for firefighting, and so much regard for their residents and their village. And that’s something to be thankful for.

For more information on the Lynbrook Fire Department, please visit their website.