Bethpage firefighter Daniel Melia dies

No matter what uniform he donned, Daniel Francis Melia's life was about service.

First as a seaman with the Navy during World War II and later as a firefighter with the FDNY, Melia spent his adult life protecting his country or serving his community.

A longtime resident of Bethpage, Melia died Oct. 22 from renal failure at his home in Florida. He was 87.

Melia was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on Aug. 25, 1924. The oldest of three children, he grew up there during the Great Depression and at 17, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, left high school to enlist in the Navy with his father's permission.

He served on ships that took troops to the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. In the fall of 1945, he was released from the Navy, and joined the Navy Reserves. The Navy called him back to service in 1951 during the Korean War.

Melia married Anne McAuley on Aug. 27, 1949, in Greenpoint and moved from Brooklyn to Bethpage.

In 1948, Melia began his career with the New York City Fire Department. He was assigned to Brooklyn's Engine Company 226. After returning from his service during the Korean War, Melia was transferred to Ladder Company 105 and moved up the ranks to lieutenant in 1957, assigned to Ladder Company 162 in Queens, and to captain in 1962, with Squad 9 in upper Manhattan.

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In 1966, he was promoted to battalion chief and returned to Brooklyn, assigned to Battalion 44.

He ascended to deputy chief in 1972 and finished his FDNY career as commander of Brooklyn's 15th Division.

He retired in 1978 after 30 years with FDNY.

"He was very generous with his time and always had a good thing to say about people," said Tom Melia, his son.

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After retiring, Melia moved to Sebastian, Fla., in 1979 with his wife and two younger children. There, he helped with the development of the Sebastian Municipal Golf Course and served as president of the Men's Club for many years.

He was also instrumental in raising money to build the St. Sebastian Catholic Church with other FDNY firefighters.

The Melias had seven children. He was preceded in death by his wife.

He is survived by daughter Mary, of Wilmington, N.C.; son Michael, of Sebastian, Fla.; daughter Eileen McElwee, of Indialantic, Fla.; son Daniel, of Rockville Centre,; son Thomas, of Massapequa; son James, of Melbourne, Fla; and son Steven, of Wilmington, N.C.; 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.