Long Beach's new fire hydrant honors Garret Rooney

New York’s first state-of-the-art fire hydrant was installed Friday in Long Beach, commemorating Garret Rooney, a former fire chief and former assistant city manager, city officials said.

Sigelock Systems, the East Rockaway-based company that manufactures the newly designed Spartan hydrant, donated the $3,400 apparatus in Rooney’s memory and installed it near Arizona Avenue and Beech Street, where Rooney and his family lived for many years. Rooney died in December 2010 from lung cancer.

“As a firefighter, Garret advocated for safety on the job, and I know he would be proud to be part of this innovative technology,” City Manager Charles T. Theofan, who was Rooney’s co-worker and friend, said in a statement. “This device is tamper free and reduces the risks of injuries to firefighting personnel and the public.”

George Sigelakis, a former New York City firefighter whose company provided the hydrant, demonstrated its patented locking system, which requires a special wrench, preventing unauthorized usage and safeguarding water supplies from contamination or acts of terrorism. The Spartan, made of stainless steel parts, is virtually maintenance free and has a 20-year warranty, Sigelakis said.

A second hydrant — at the Long Island Rail Road station in Long Beach — was also donated to the city.

Photo: The Spartan fire hydrant was dedicated Sunday in Long Beach in honor of Garret Rooney, former fire chief and former assistant city manager. (Nov. 20, 2011)