Mourners bid farewell to fallen former Hauppauge fire chief

Former Hauppauge Fire Chief Stephen A. Feron, who spent his life battling blazes, had a fire inside him burning with love for his family and community, a priest told mourners Saturday.

Feron, 49, of Hauppauge, died June 11 during a training exercise while attempting to retrieve a personal watercraft with the Suffolk County Urban Search and Rescue Team and the Mastic Beach Fire Department. He was an insurance broker and volunteer firefighter who served as chief of the department from 2018 to 2019.

The second-generation firefighter was buried after a funeral Mass attended by more than 200 mourners at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church. A rumble of motorcycles led the procession, followed by the Nassau County Fire pipes and drum band. Hauppauge fire engines bore Feron’s coffin, draped in an American flag, that pallbearers carried into the church.

“In a fire where a blaze would be put out, he showed the fire of his love. He proved the fire can grow. The host can disappear, but the fire is still there,” the Rev. Antony Asir said. “Those drums show how honorable this person is, and he deserves this honor from all of us. But it can also entomb our sorrow missing him. In human life, something is given up in order to gain something better.”

Firefighters led a color guard carrying silver axes and two fire helmets belonging to Feron as his family walked behind the coffin. He was survived by his wife, Kelly, his children, Anna and Stephen, and his sisters, Sheila and Maureen.

Feron served with the department for 33 years, following his father Stephen B. Feron, who also served as chief for three years, into the service.

It's the department's first loss since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Roy Woods, 55, of Smithtown, said Feron had a knack for making his brethren laugh.

“Stephen was always a character. His passion, friendship and personality would make us laugh,” said Woods, who grew up in the department with Feron. “We didn't want to lose someone that young. It’s very shocking. We’re supposed to bury the old, not the young,”

Asir said Feron was “in the prime of his life” and loved his profession. His love lives on through “his spirit, example and his legacy,” Asir said.

He told Feron's wife: “Kelly, it is so young to say goodbye. But all those moments and places you were together” will serve to comfort and console her.

Feron’s coffin was led out of the church to an honor procession and back onto the firetruck to be taken to the cemetery. The procession was lined by firefighters and officials, including Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, as a helicopter flew overhead.

“This is a person who has served our community with distinction for decades with a family and dedicated to public service,” Bellone said.

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.