Ex-Port Washington Fire Chief Thomas Murray Jr. Dies

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Thomas Murray Jr., former chief of the Port Washington Fire Department and captain of the Flower Hill Hose Company, has died. The department announced his death in a Facebook post Friday.

Murray, 72, died Thursday night. He will be reposed at the Flower Hill Hose Co. on Haven Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 13, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A funeral service is planned Tuesday, Oct. 15, at St. Peters Church. Murray will then be buried at Nassau Knolls Cemetery.

Geoffrey Cole, a fellow former Port Washington fire chief, told Patch in an emailed statement the department had "lost a great man."

"Could always count on Tommy," said Cole. "He was THE mentor and role model for many of us not only in the PWFD but for many others in the County and the State."

Murray's colleagues will remember him as a "firefighter's firefighter" and a "chief's chief," Cole added.

"What a big loss. Hope you may now Rest In Peace brother," said Cole.

Born and raised in Port Washington, Murray came from a family of firefighters. His father was a member of the Flower Hill Hose Company and two of his uncles were also firefighters, including one who was also a chief. Murray first became a firefighter in March 1965, attending fire classes, cleaning the fire house and working in the kitchen.

"You know, all the duties that nobody else wants to do; they always gave it to the new kids, the new rookies," he told Margaret Dildilian in a 2004 oral history interview.

Just a year after becoming a member and in the middle of the Vietnam War, Murray joined the U.S. Marines. He served for two years, including a year in Vietnam, and earned a Purple Heart after a land mine exploded and sent pieces of shrapnel into his left shoulder. The injury left him hospitalized in southern Vietnam for 33 days.

Returning home in 1968, Murray brought back to the fire house lessons he'd learned in the war.

Specifically, the notion of camaraderie and having peoples' backs even if he didn't like them.

"You could be in a smoky basement sometime with somebody that you really don't like, but you have to take care of each other when you're in there," he said.

During his time as a firefighter, Murray saw first-hand many of the area's largest fires, including the Village Tavern fire in 1969 and the Sands Point Bath Club.

In 1970, Murray was honored for rescuing a woman who was trapped in a burning apartment building in Soundview Village. For his efforts, Murray was awarded the Medal of Merit by U.S. Rep. Lester Wolff, as well as Schaefer Fireman of the Year.

One of the worst fires he saw was a deadly arson in November 1988 that killed Bobby Dayton, a lieutenant at Flower Hill Hose Co. No. 1.

Dayton commanded a search and rescue team at an apartment fire on Main Street. He became trapped and ran out of air, and was declared dead at a hospital.

"I just happened to be the one to go in to find him and bring him out," said Murray, who said he was close with Dayton.

Murray served in numerous leadership positions, including chairman of the Eighth Fire Battalion, chairman of the Nassau County Fire Commission, president of the county Fireman’s Association, commissioner of the Port Washington Water District and member of the Board of Directors for the Nassau County Vocation Education and Extension Board. Additionally, he was a member of the Road Runners Drill Team during two state championship seasons in 1969 and 1973.

But he called it a great honor and privilege to serve as chief of the Port Washington Fire Department. It's practically a full-time job — on top of his paying occupation — and only a handful of people can say they've done it.

"You volunteer your time to be Chief of the Fire Department," he said. "It takes a lot of time. Letter writing. Back then, we didn't have a secretary like they have nowadays. We did all the work ourselves. All the mail that comes in, all the phone calls, all of the fires, and then your own family wants a little of that time, too."