Halesite celebrates 50 year milestone for two members

Halesite Fire Department celebrates 50 years of service by two members

Two members of the Halesite Fire Department will be honored in October as they each celebrate 50 years of distinguished service. According to Chief Greg Colonna, “We are honored to have not one, but two of our members celebrating their 50-year anniversary this year. We are hosting a dinner in their honor on October 27^th at our headquarters. This is a big deal. It doesn’t happen often.”

The two men, Ex-chief Frank Grasso and F. Rogers (known as Roger) Ketcham both come from distinguished Halesite families with long histories of service dating back to the early twentieth century. Frank Grasso joined the department in April 1968. He served as a firefighter, lieutenant, captain and chief of the department for eight years in the 1980’s. He is a recipient of the department’s “bravery” award (he dove into Huntington Harbor to rescue a drowning man back in the late 80’s). He is a retired crane operator and is still an active member of the fire service; one of the few people qualified to drive all fire apparatus.

Roger Ketcham joined in October 1968. His Halesite service was interrupted briefly by his service to the U.S. Army during the Viet Nam War. Says Chief Colonna, “Roger is still one of our most active firefighters and EMT’s. He responds to over 200 calls a year.” He’s been an officer of the department, in one capacity or another for over 40 years. Roger also publishes the department’s annual newsletter to the community.