South Hempstead street renamed to honor fallen FDNY Lt. Henry Hinton

When retired FDNY Lt. Henry Hinton saw the planes strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, he rushed from his South Hempstead home, only to see the north tower fall.

Just more than a month after ending his 20-year career with the fire department, he went to Ground Zero to help with the rescue and evacuation, and then worked the pile in recovery efforts weeks later. His work at Ground Zero led to lung cancer and his death in January at age 65.

"When I was at South Side Middle School watching the terrorist attacks, I knew my father would be going to the towers to help his fellow firefighters and others to safety," Henry Hinton Jr. said Saturday. "That night we didn’t know if he would come home. My father was retired for a month and a half before the attacks, but still went in to save lives of others he didn’t know."

Hempstead Town officials and the FDNY on Saturday dedicated Irene Street in South Hempstead where Hinton had lived for 37 years, renaming it Lt. Henry J. Hinton Street with a new red sign bearing an FDNY 9/11 emblem.

The dedication, attended by more than 100 friends, neighbors and colleagues of the Hinton family, featured a Baldwin Fire Department ladder truck hanging a giant American flag and the New York Emerald Society Pipe Band.

The sign was unveiled by town officials, family members and Hinton’s two grandchildren, Jackson and Grayson.

"He could have watched that drastic day unfold, but instead he suited up to be with his brothers and sisters in Manhattan to serve," Hempstead Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said. "We stand here in Hempstead to dedicate a street to a hero. We always promise on the day of our oath we will never forget our fallen."

Hinton was born in Brooklyn but moved to Malverne as a child. He followed his father’s career path working in the FDNY in Queens, and then as a lieutenant in the first battalion in lower Manhattan, Hinton Jr. said.

Two of Hinton’s children said he had an infectious laugh and was known around his neighborhood as "the mayor," because he seemed to know everyone, served as block captain and even seemed to commandeer the floor of the hospital when he was sick.

"My dad’s life motto was, leave a place better than you found it, and boy did he live up to it," his daughter Barbara Hinton said. "Even in New York’s darkest days, he went to help his brothers. Firefighting was his perfect job. He did what he loved, helping others in need."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.