Community Comes Together To Remember North Fork Firefighter, Friend

CUTCHOGUE, NY — Fellow firefighters and community members came together recently to remember Frank McBride, their colleague and friend, who died in 2016.

McBride lost his life after his pickup was hit by a Long Island Rail Road train on Elijah's Lane in Mattituck.

But despite the fact that six years have passed since the tragedy, those who loved him work tirelessly to keep his memory and legacy alive.

After his death, heartbroken North Fork residents mourned McBride, who worked at the transfer station in Cutchogue and was a dedicated firefighter. And now, members of the Cutchogue Fire Department gathered Saturday to clean a stretch of roadway, adopted by the CFD in 2017 through the Suffolk County Adopt-A-Road program, in memory of McBride.

The one-mile stretch along County Route 48, known as "Frankie's Road" by the many whose lives he touched, covers the area from Cox Lane to Horseshoe Drive, and passes by a part of the McBride family farm and the Southold Town recycling center, McBride's place of employment for several years, fire department officials said.

McBride, the Cutchogue Fire Department said, "was known for generosity, dedication to helping others and his ability to make others laugh and smile."

Periodically throughout the year a contingent of CFD firefighters join forces to pick up litter along the roadway and keep the area clean in his name, officials said. The stretch is marked by signs placed there by Suffolk County Department of Public Works in McBride's memory.

"Thank you to all of Frank's fellow friends and firefighters who continue take part in this program," the Cutchogue Fire Department said.

After he died, many reflected on McBride's life.

"Frank was a stellar employee who will be deeply missed. He came to work each day with one goal — to help his coworkers, help the public and to do the best job he could. I won't just miss him as his boss, I will miss him as one of the many, many residents that enjoyed seeing him at out transfer station every day," Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said.

McBride served the Cutchogue Fire Department for 16 years, carrying on a McBride family tradition.

"He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Mickey, and has served alongside his father Richie, brother Michael and numerous uncles and cousins within the department," the CFD said.

The sentiments echoed, as friends shared stories about a caring soul who would have given others the very shirt off his back.

"Frank was a beautiful person and had a smile that was contagious," friend Tracy Raynor told Patch. "He would always come to store and visit me and tell me he was going to make me his grandma's Polish donuts. He will hold a special place in my heart."

Valerie DeFio said she worked with McBride for more than 14 years. "He was one of a kind. He will be deeply missed by everyone that knew him. Such a tragedy," she said.

Lauren Gilbert reflected on the profound impact McBride had on so many he'd touched in his young life. "So many of us see acquaintances and sometimes avoid eye contact, but not Frank. He would go out of his way to look you in the eyes and say 'hello.'"

She added, "We need more people like Frank in this world and it saddens me when someone like that is taken way too soon."

Sharon Sailor, too, shared memories of a young man whose memory will forever shine on the North Fork canvas. "Frankie was a kind, innocent, gentle soul . . .a community member, a firefighter, a husband, a son, a grandson, a farmer, a co-worker and an all-around good guy who exemplified what our small town can and should be about."