22 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 22, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Firefi ghters with Queens connections lost in military crash
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Two active members of the Fire
Department with Queens connections
who served our country in the Air
National Guard died earlier this week in
a helicopter crash while on a tour of duty
in Iraq.
Lieutenant Christopher Raguso, 39, of
Division 13 in Richmond Hill was serving
with fellow members of the New
York Air National Guard in Iraq. He
and another active member of the Fire
Department, Fire Marshal Christopher
Zanetis, were on board a HH-60 Pave
Hawk helicopter that struck a power line
near the Iraq/Syria border on March 15
and crashed, the Daily News reported.
Zanetis lived in Long Island City, according
to AMNewYork.
Raguso, Zanetis and fi ve other Air
National Guard members on the chopper
were killed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Fire
Commissioner Daniel Nigro announced
the deaths of Raguso and Zanetis on
March 16. As they were active members
of both the FDNY and the military at the
time, Raguso and Zanetis are the respective
1,148th and 1,149th Fire Department
members killed in the line of duty.
“Th ey are truly two of New York City’s
bravest – running into danger to protect
and defend others, both in New York City
and in combat overseas,” de Blasio said.
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend
my deepest condolences to their families,
loved ones, and fellow service members
and FDNY members.”
“Lieutenant Raguso and Fire Marshal
Zanetis bravely wore two uniforms in
their extraordinary lives of service – as
New York City Firefi ghters and as members
of the United States Armed Forces,”
Nigro said. “Th e hearts and prayers of the
entire department are with their loved
ones and with the families of their fi ve fellow
service members who lost their lives
defending our country.”
Raguso joined the FDNY in March of
2005 and was initially assigned to Ladder
Company 113 in Brooklyn. He was promoted
as a lieutenant in September 2016
and reassigned to Battalion 50, which is
based with Engine Company 298 and
Ladder Company 127 out of Hillside
Avenue in Jamaica. He also served Division
13, headquartered with Squad Company
270 on Atlantic Avenue in Richmond Hill.
Th e FDNY noted that Raguso received
departmental honors on six diff erent
occasions for bravery and other life-saving
actions, or for his service to a unit.
Zanetis was also honored numerous
times for his service to the FDNY,
according to AMNewYork. Aft er nine
years as New York City fi refi ghter, he
was appointed a fi re marshal in 2013
and assigned to the Fire Investigations
Citywide South unit in Brooklyn.
Th ese are the fi rst line-of-duty deaths
that the Fire Department has suff ered
since Firefi ghter William Tolley, assigned
to Ladder Company 135 in Glendale, died
last April while responding to a fi re in
Ridgewood.
Raguso lived in Commack, NY with
his wife, Carmela, and their two young
daughters, and was a volunteer member
of the Commack Fire Department.
Zanetis is survived by his parents, John
and Sarah, of Carmel, Indiana.
Th e FDNY Foundation has established
a college scholarship fund for Raguso’s
daughters; click here to donate.
Bad battery caused huge blaze at Jamaica trash depot: FDNY
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
An improperly disposed lithium ion
battery sparked fi ve-alarm inferno at a
Jamaica recycling plant last Friday that
took fi refi ghters nearly 24 hours to bring
under control.
According to the Fire Department, the
blaze started just aft er noon on March 16
at the Royal Waste Services plant located
at 187-40 Jamaica Ave.
Th e fl ames quickly spread through the
rubbish outside of the facility, sending a
plume of black smoke over the area. For
a time, it also brought much of the Long
Island Rail Road to a standstill.
More than 200 fi refi ghters responded
to the scene along with EMS units. One
fi refi ghter suff ered injuries that were not
life-threatening.
FDNY Assistant Chief Edward Baggott
said late on Friday aft ernoon that it could
take fi refi ghters up to 18 hours to fully
extinguish the blaze due to the size. Th e fi re
engulfed a large pile of cardboard materials
and newspapers stored on the site.
“We will remove some of the accumulated
burning rubbish and cart it out
in heavy dumpsters,” Baggott said. “It’s
going to be a long, protracted operation
through the night and into tomorrow.”
Th e situation forced the LIRR to suspend
most service east of Jamaica on Friday
aft ernoon. Th e LIRR’s main line runs adjacent
to the Royal Waste Services plant,
close to the Hillside Maintenance Facility.
As of 3:30 p.m. on March 16, only trains
on the Babylon, West Hempstead and
Montauk branches were running (service
on the Port Washington line was
not aff ected, as it’s nowhere near the site
of the fi re). Normal service on the Port
Jeff erson, Ronkonkoma, Oyster Bay and
Hempstead branches were completely
suspended for a time, although some very
limited service resumed as the aft ernoon
rush hour began.
Just aft er 10:15 p.m., the LIRR reported
on Twitter that service on the branches
had been restored, and was running at
or close to schedule.
Photo via Facebook/FDNY
Lieutenant Christopher Raguso (left) and Fire Marshal Christopher Zanetis were killed on March 15
while serving the New York Air National Guard in Iraq.
Photo by Phil Mackie/RHS NEWS
A four-alarm fi re at the Royal Waste Plant in Jamaica on March 16 led to massive service suspensions on the Long Island Rail Road.
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