Crime & Safety
Martinez Continues Firefighting Legacy
Glen Cove Fire Department's youngest member represents the third generation of his family to become a city volunteer.
Glen Cove resident Brian Martinez is the newest member of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department.
In December, Martinez was inducted into the Pacific Engine and Hose Company. This is department's oldest division, and the first fire emergency response force ever assembled in the city. The 18-year-old Martinez is also the youngest member of the department.
Martinez was previously a junior member and went through the same three month application process that all members must go through, which includes an interview and a final vote by those who are already full-fledged volunteer firefighters.
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Just like many of the volunteers in the department, he also has roots that reach deep into the city's tradition of fighting blazes. And this is one flame that he intends to preserve rather than put out.
Volunteering to help keep the city safer goes back generations in his family with the men who were and are still firemen. By becoming a firefighter, Martinez represents the third generation of his family to join the department. His father, Vincent, has served the department for 23 years and recently completed a term as fire chief, and his grandfather, also named Vincent, is a 49-year member of the department.
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Although Martinez — who is a senior at Glen Cove High School — has not yet fought his first blaze, he noted that his career choice is already set. He also aspires to follow in his father's footsteps by serving as fire chief.
"Becoming a firefighter is something I wanted to do since I was a kid," he said, giving the world a hint that he has already began his transition into an adult.
In September, it is off to the pursuits of a higher education for Martinez at the University of New Haven, where he is enrolled in its Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences.
However, he will not be too far from home, in distance or frame of mind, by the look of his declared major: fire science.
With the current spike in recruitment for the New York City Fire Department, along with rising standards for employees of state and other civic institutions, Martinez said, that young aspirants will need "the extra edge."
"I'm taking fire science to stay competitive," he added. "I want to make this into a career."
