Baldwin street renamed to honor fallen firefighter

Michael Esposito was a fixture at the Baldwin Fire Department, whether leading units to a blaze as a captain of Hose Company, No. 1, or playing catcher for the department’s softball team.

Thanks to his family and fellow firefighters, his name will remain a fixture. On May 20, a stretch of Grand Avenue next to the Baldwin Fire Department was renamed in Esposito’s honor.

About a year earlier, on May 18, 2011, Esposito had chest pains while responding to a house fire. He was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died at age 43.

Esposito had been a volunteer at the fire department for 21 years.

“He was a fixture of the firehouse,” said Kevin Smith, former Baldwin chief. “He was always joking, always laughing -- a fun, fiery Italian spirit. It’s tough not having him here.”

On the morning of the renaming ceremony, the section of Grand Avenue was closed off. Instead of cars, the street belonged to the friends, family and fellow volunteers who gathered to remember Esposito.

“The fire department is a very close-knit community here -- his death impacted everyone,” said Gerard Brown, district supervisor of the Baldwin Fire Department.

The new street sign stands tall on Grand Avenue -- bright red with clean white letters and the Baldwin Fire Department shield on one side. The Town of Hempstead recognized that part of the road as Michael Esposito Way.

In addition to the street sign, a bronze plaque was placed on the outside wall of the firehouse. The sign's title reads, “The Supreme Sacrifice,” and honors Esposito for his work and dedication to the fire department.

Smith worked with Esposito at Hose Company No. 1. At the commemoration, Smith served as the unofficial master of ceremonies and spoke.

“I really liked how everything came together,” Smith said of the ceremony. “There was such a unity throughout the department that day.”

Hose Company No. 1 also announced the Michael Esposito Scholarship Fund, which will award money to a student at Baldwin High School. At the ceremony, Esposito’s family donated $500 to the fund.

”This experience has been overwhelming for my family,” said Todd Esposito, Michael Esposito’s brother and a second lieutenant for the Baldwin Fire Department. “The fire department has done so much to create a continuing remembrance of my brother.”

Photo: This street sign on Grand Avenue in Baldwin marks the section dedicated to fallen firefighter Michael Esposito.