A stones-throw from fire house, final respects for ex-Hauppauge chief
The gear of former Hauppauge Fire Chief Stephen A. Feron outside Maloney Funeral Home in Hauppauge on Thursday as friends, family and firefighters attended his wake Credit: Howard Schnapp
Mourners paid their respects to former Hauppauge Fire Chief Stephen A. Feron on Thursday, across Wheeler Road and less than a block from his second home since he was a boy — the Hauppauge fire house.
Feron, 49, died last Saturday while participating in a drill with the Mastic Beach Fire Department and the Suffolk County Urban Search and Rescue Team.
Outside the entrance of Moloney’s Funeral Home, Feron’s turnout gear — his yellow fire coat, helmet, Halligan bar and flat head ax — stood sentry in remembrance beneath a soaring American flag.
Stephen A. Feron served as chief of the Hauppauge Fire Department from 2018 to 2019, following the path carved by of his father, Stephen B. Feron, who served the same role from 1985 through 1988. Credit: Hauppauge Fire Department
“He was a fun-loving Irishman, quick witted with the jokes but could also be a tender and caring person that would listen to you,” said Hauppauge Fire Chief Kenneth Furuno outside the funeral home.
“He had a fantastic sense of honor," the chief continued. "He had a fantastic sense of responsibility.”
The son of a Hauppauge fire chief, Feron had joined the department as a teenager and was a member for 33 years, Furuno said. The two had gone to high school together, though two years apart, and served side-by-side on the fire department for three decades.
Feron’s death is the department’s first line-of-duty fatality since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Furuno said.
The cause of death hasn’t been released, Furuno said, but during the training exercise, Feron had been attempting to retrieve a Jet Ski in the water.
He is survived by his wife Kelly, daughter Anna and son Stephen.
Family members, firefighters, police officers, friends and educators streamed in for the open-casket viewing. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison both came to the funeral home Thursday.
“It’s a loss for everybody,” Harrison said after exiting the funeral home. “Being a first responder, it’s not just a noble profession, it’s God’s work and anytime someone is putting their life on the line to help other people, they need to be recognized, honored and appreciated.”
Feron served as chief of department from 2018 to 2019, following the path carved by of his father, Stephen B. Feron, who served as chief of the department from 1985 through 1988.
Stephen A. Feron worked in the insurance industry, focusing on shipping, according to a member of fire department. Much of his recent firefighting work was focused on training for technical rescue, a specialized field dealing with challenges like collapsed buildings and water rescues.
“He expected excellence,” firefighter Edward Giannelli said. “Firefighting is dangerous. You need to know exactly what you’re doing when you get off the truck.”
Feron made sure “that everybody knew what they were doing,” Giannelli said.
The two firefighters were close friends, Giannelli said, going on fishing trips, golf outings, barbecuing and attending christenings together.
“When you join an organization like a volunteer fire service," he said, "you make friends for life and that’s what Stephen was to me.”
A funeral mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at St. Thomas More Church, 115 Kings Highway, in Hauppauge, with a burial at a cemetery to be determined.
