Officials: Ex-Hauppauge fire chief dies during Suffolk training drill

A former Hauppauge Fire Department chief died Saturday morning while participating in a drill with the Mastic Beach Fire Department and the Suffolk County Urban Search and Rescue Team, officials said. 

Stephen A. Feron, 49, became an assistant chief in 2015 and was named chief of department in 2018, a position he held for a year, according to Ken Furuno, Hauppauge’s current chief of department. The cause of death was not immediately available. 

“He was a lot of things to a lot of people,” Furuno said Sunday. “He was the comedy when it was appropriate. He was the soft-spoken voice of reason when he needed to be. He was friendly with everyone in the department. He definitely led by example.”

Feron, of Hauppauge, is survived by his wife and two children, Furuno said.

In a message on its website and Facebook page, the Hauppauge Fire Department thanked the Central Islip Hauppauge Ambulance Company for transporting Feron’s body to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office. They also expressed gratitude to neighboring fire departments for their show of respect Saturday afternoon as his body was received by the medical examiner. 

The training exercise was run by the Mastic Beach Fire Department, according to Marykate Guilfoyle, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's director of communications.

Feron’s father, Stephen B. Feron, served as chief of department in Hauppauge from 1985 to 1988, according to Furuno, who attended Hauppauge High School with Feron.

“He had been around the firehouse since he was a little boy,” Furuno said.