An Inaugural Volley Ball Tournament benefiting the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation was held on the evening of August 23, 2018, at the Holiday Inn Express in Stony Brook, New York. This event, organized by Tanya Lee, Director of Sales and Marketing, for the Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook was great success raising nearly $4,000 for the Foundation. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation helps train and equip fire departments throughout North America.
Thank you to the Inaugural Volley Ball Tournament host sponsors Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook and Gold Coast Bank, as well as John C. Tsunis, who donated the $1,000 tournament prize.
Fire department teams who competed in this year's tournament included: Centereach, Coram, Terryville, Farmingville, FDNY Ladder Company 120 (Watkins Street), Setauket, Jericho, and who were joined by the team from Gold Coast Bank.
The tournament was won by the members Ladder Company 120, who donated their prize back to the Foundation.
$1,000 prize back to the Foundation. Paul Sabbagh, who won the 50-50, also donated the money back to the Foundation.
We also thank all of the food sponsors, vendors, and volunteers who came out to support the Foundation, including:
• Bagel Express – Setauket
• Chick Fil-A – Port Jefferson Station
• Luigi’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant – East Setauket
• The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Restaurant – Smithtown
• Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook
• Miller’s Ale House in Lake Grove hosted the after party with food and drink specials
• DJ Kevin Nitzsche donated his services.
• Origami Owl
• Vicki Marie Belcher sold the 50/50 tickets
• Ron Monteleone – Fire News Photographer
• Dan Keller from Stony Brook Athletics refereed the tournament
• Leah Dunaief – Publisher, Times Beacon Record served as a judge
• Appearance by Wolfie, the Stony Brook University mascot
Thank you to all of the teams, sponsors, and friends who came out to support the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation!
Captain Bob Farrell, our friend at Fire Hooks Unlimited, continues to show his support for the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation and the fire service. His generous donation of $20,000 will help the Foundation provide training and personal safety rope systems for firefighters throughout North America.
Bob, a former Navy Frog/UDT man and highly decorated member of FDNY, served at Ladder 31 during the "war years" and the filming of the 1972 TV documentary "Man Alive: The Bronx is Burning." Of his many awards, 19 in all, Bob was awarded the FDNY’s highest medal for bravery - James Gordon Bennett medal. During the 2015 seminar, Bob was one of the “Bronx is Burning” legends who participated in the panel discussion and meet and greet with students. After an historic career with FDNY, Bob went on to become the President/Founder of Fire Hooks Unlimited, designing and manufacturing fire hooks and tools.
"Through Bob's generosity, we can continue to train firefighters in the U.S. and Canada," says Chief DiBernardo, Foundation President. "Bob Farrell is a great friend; we are honored and grateful to have him as a partner the important work of keeping firefighters safe. His philanthropy helps many fire department organizations and causes throughout the country. We thank Bob for honoring Joey's memory and for his caring support of the fire service."
The Bellerose Fire Department, which is located in western Nassau County, has received a grant totaling almost $4,000. This grant provided personal life safety rope systems for six firefighters.
"A huge 'Thank You' for the bailout system grant money we received. The Campville Fire Department and Town of Owego Fire District are very grateful to your organization for helping us get a bailout system for each of our new MSA G1 air packs. I hope that we never have to use them, but the confidence we have in knowing that self rescue is possible in the case of an emergency is empowering. We will continue to train with the Rescue Belt 2 from MSA so each of our interior firefighters will be as prepared as possible in the event of the need for self rescue." - Chief Diana Ford, Campville Fire Department
The members of the Lynnfield Fire Department Training Division participated in a "Train the Trainer" event. They trained in proper "bail out" techniques to escape from life-threatening fire situations. Recently, the Lynnfield Fire Department was awarded a $22,515 grant from the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation to purchase bail out kits and training for all of its members. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation was established to help fire departments prevent another tragedy like "FDNY Black Sunday" in 2005. The members of Lynnfield Fire Department are grateful to the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation for its generous grant award.
“We were very fortunate enough to receive the grant that outfitted our whole department,” Firefighter Eric Moran said. “Every fire department should be outfitted with these,” Moran said. “It’s necessary safety equipment.”
Firefighters in the New York area are encouraged to join us at Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook on Thursday, August 23, 2018, from 5:00 - 8:00 pm for a fire department volleyball tournament to benefit the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation. The Tournament, sponsored Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook and Gold Coast Bank, features special guest judges, corn hole toss, and a great time!
Fire Departments and firefighters can register for $20 per person, which includes food, beverages, and a donation to the Foundation. The winning team will receive $1,000!
Players can meet up at a special after party at Millers Ale House in Lake Grove. There will be food and drink specials and a DJ.
For more information or to register call This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at (631) 471-8000 ext. 709.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation provides fire departments in need with training and personal safety systems. Our wish is that one day every firefighter will have the training and equipment to safely escape a fire.
Joey D Foundation Instructor, Lt. Mickey Conboy, FDNY Rescue Co. 3, is receiving the James Gordon Bennett Medal at the 2018 FDNY Medal Day Ceremony in June. The Gordon Bennett Medal is the highest ranking FDNY medal and is awarded for the most outstanding act of heroism of all the medal winners. We are proud to have Lt. Conboy as a member of our teaching staff and offer our congratulations to him!
By Battalion Chief Gregory G. Sutton
Titusville Fire & Emergency Services
Today our newest personnel received challenge coins signifying the successful completion of their firefighter bailout training. This equipment, this training could one day save their life, but this is not just a “challenge coin.” This coin is one memorializing Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo.
In January 2005, Joey responded to a tenement fire in the Bronx with Rescue 3. This day would come to be known as “Black Sunday” in FDNY history as three firefighters died that day in the line of duty. Due to illegal partitions and blocked fire escapes, Ladder Co. 27 and Rescue 3 became trapped on the top floor of this Bronx tenement. Surrounded by fire with no way out and running out of air, they were forced to jump out the rear windows to the yard five stories below. We have utilized this as a case study when completing the classroom portion of our bailout training to all our personnel since issuing these kits over a year ago.
Joey and the other survivors initiated a campaign for the issuance of personal life safety ropes for all members of FDNY and, as result of this fire, FDNY did re-issue ropes to all its members. Joey and the other survivors regularly spoke out around the country about firefighter safety. Despite his injuries, Joey was also a most popular instructor giving classes across the country.
Joey continued to live in great pain every day of his life from all his injuries and passed away November 22, 2011, as a result of the injuries that he suffered on Black Sunday. We use this tragic story of the untimely deaths of these brave members of FDNY and how the ability to “bailout,” having the personal escape kits is something we can’t take for granted. For had those personnel had those kits that day, the events likely would have been different.
I was honored to have spoken with Lt. DiBernardo’s father, FDNY Chief Joe DiBernardo (Ret.), on the anniversary of Joey's passing. He had called asking about which coins I was requesting to purchase. We were actually performing the bailout training when he called me. I thought it fitting.
He and other family members formed the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation. They continue the memory of Lt. DiBernardo by providing financial grants to departments who may otherwise not be able to equip their personnel with these life-saving kits. It’s through Joeys memory that they strive to help others have the ability to bailout and have the training to do it safely. I can think of no better way to memorialize someone like Lt. DiBernardo. They operate on donations and purchasing of items such as the challenge coins and t shirts.
For more information go to www.joeydfoundation.org.
Christmas came early for the Campville Fire Department of Endicott, New York. The department received a grant from the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation to replace 30 of its aging personal life safety rope systems. The grant totaling over $30,500 was made possible through a partnership between the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation and The Leary Firefighters Foundation.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, established in Joey’s memory in 2013, “carries on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and our grant program helps provide a way to give firefighters this vital equipment ,” says Chief Joe DiBernardo. "Through our partnership with The Leary Firefighters Foundation, we can help more departments in need in the New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts area. We're honored to partner with The Leary Firefighters Foundation to help our nation's firefighters stay safe."
In August 2012, New York Governor Cuomo, signed into law a measure to require New York firefighters to be equipped with personal safety rope systems or emergency escape systems in the event they become trapped in an elevated structure fire. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation helps departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe.
To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
Lynnfield Fire Department of Lynnfield, Massachusetts is a growing combination department just outside of Boston. The department received a grant through a partnership with the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation and and The Leary Firefighters Foundation. This grant will provide 44 personal life safety rope systems and training for its firefighters.
"Given our tremendous growth, including a mall and many high fire load apartment complexes, combined with the lack of budgetary growth, we feel that this grant will be crucial in assisting a highly motivated group of firefighters stay safe, " they mention in their application.
This grant totaling over $22,500 was made possible through a partnership between the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation and The Leary Firefighters Foundation.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, established in Joey’s memory in 2013, “carries on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy ,” says Chief Joe DiBernardo. "Through our partnership with The Leary Firefighters Foundation, we can help more departments in need in the New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts area. We're honored to partner with The Leary Firefighters Foundation to help our nation's firefighters stay safe."
Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Pleasantville Fire Department of Pleasantville, New Jersey has received a grant totaling over $25,000. This grant will provide 43 personal life safety rope systems and training for its firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Moosup Valley Fire Department of Foster, Rhode Island has received a grant totaling over $9,200. This grant will provide 17 personal life safety rope systems and training for its structural firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Castle Valley Fire District, which is in southeast Utah, has received a grant totaling over $2,300. This grant will provide personal life safety rope systems and related training for four of its firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Wright City Fire Protection District of Wright City, Missouri has received a grant totaling over $7,700. This grant will provide 27 personal life safety rope systems for its firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire Department, which is located in western Nassau County, has received a grant totaling almost $6,400. This grant will provide personal life safety rope systems for eight of its firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
In August 2012, New York Governor Cuomo, signed into law a measure to require New York firefighters to be equipped with personal safety rope systems or emergency escape systems in the event they become trapped in an elevated structure fire. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation helps departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Pittsburg Volunteer Fire Department of Pittsburg, Texas, has received a grant totaling over $2,500. This grant will provide personal life safety rope systems on each rescue in the fleet.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Bellerose Fire Department, which is located in western Nassau County, has received a grant totaling almost $4,000. This grant will provide personal life safety rope systems for six of its firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
In August 2012, New York Governor Cuomo, signed into law a measure to require New York firefighters to be equipped with personal safety rope systems or emergency escape systems in the event they become trapped in an elevated structure fire. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation helps departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce that the Scalp Level Paint Borough Volunteer Fire Department of Windber, Pennsylvania has received a grant totaling over $6,700. This grant will personal life safety rope systems and training for its 30 firefighters.
"Since its inception in 2013, the Foundation has awarded over $242,000 to help departments across the United States and Canada keep their members safe," says Chief Joe DiBernardo. “Our programs carry on Joey’s legacy of training firefighters and helps prevent another tragedy.”
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation's mission is to help North American fire departments in need purchase this much needed safety equipment and keep them safe. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org/about-the-foundation/grants/.
Our 2017 Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Seminar would not have been possible without the assistance of our venue sponsors who welcomed us into their facilities and provided staff support to train firefighters from around the country.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation would like to thank the Suffolk County Fire Academy for hosting our firefighters. The facilities were a great setting for our hands-on training and we couldn't have done it without all of the hard work of the staff and instructors who volunteered their time. We would also like to thank the Three Village School District and their employees for making classroom training at R.C. Murphy Junior High School a success.
Please accept our heartfelt thank you for your support and for honoring Joey in such a special way!
