FDNY LT CHARLES HUNT E 166 4/15/1977

[mack]

FDNY Fire Service Line of Duty Death​

April 15, 1977 - LODD
Lieutenant Charles Hunt, 42
Engine 166
FDNY. Bulls Head - Staten Island, New York





While Lieutenant Hunt was operating from an abandoned wooden bridge at a dump fire, some planking broke loose, pitching him 15 feet into a creek. Despite immediate rescue efforts by firefighters, police divers recovered his body in 20 feet of water, four hours later. He had died as a result of drowning and injuries sustained in the fall.


RIP. Never forget.

 

[mack]

​

HERO'S FUNERAL GIVEN TO DROWNED FIREMAN​

By Judith Cummings
April 21, 1977


At the call of “Detail, salute,” 2,500 white‐gloved hands smartly touched caps in front of a tiny firehouse in the Bedford‐Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, as firemen from throughout the area joined city officials at funeral services for Fire Lieut. Charles Hunt Jr., who fell into creek and drowned last Friday at the scene of a fire on Staten Island.

Lieutenant Hunt was killed when a rotted pier crumbled beneath him, plunging him into Fresh Kills Creek in full firefighting gear. A Fire Department spokesman said the 41‐year‐old officer had mounted the pier to make a final inspection of a rubbish fire extinguished by Engine Company 166.

Mayor Beanie. Deputy Mayor Lucille Rose. Fire Commissioner John T. O'Hagan and the uniformed firemen were among those who filled Berean Missionary Baptist Church, Lieutenant Hunt's boyhood church, at 1635 Bergen Street.

The fire officer's widow, Jacqueline, her eyes shaded by a broad hat, comforted the couple's three children—Lisa, 17; Diana, 15, and Charles, 12. About a hundred students from George W. Wingate High School, where Mrs. Hunt is a teacher were among the mourners.

Children Addressed

The service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Hylton James, pastor of the church, who in an emotional eulogy urged Lieutenant Hunt's children to follow their father's example.

“With his death we must ask ourselves will our lives be useful or wasteful,” Dr. James said. “We must decide how much [his] life will get hold of us and make us better than we would be if we had not known him.”

An 18‐year veteran of the department, Lieutenant Hunt had been cited three times for bravery, he was born in Sparta, Ga., and came with his family as an infant to the Weeksville neighborhood of Bedford‐Stuyvesant.

He received a bachelor's degree in fire science administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1973. Lieutenant Hunt was the third fireman to die in the line of duty this year.

The wine‐colored coffin was borne from the church onto a pumper from Engine 166 for a three‐block procession along Bergen Street to Engine Company 234. the nearest firehouse. The march was headed by Mr. Beame, City Councilwoman Mary Pinkett of Brooklyn and other city and fire officials.

“It hurts the entire department, as well as New York City,” Mr. Beame said of Lieutenant Hunt's death. “He was one who was apparently highly regarded by his colleagues as well as by his community.”

 

[mack]

 

[mack]

LT Hunt as FF in L 146 - WNYF picture

 

[mack]

LT Hunt was a well-liked and highly respected officer in E 166. He had previously served in L 146 and TCU 732. My father was special called to this tragic fire for search efforts. LT Hunt and the officer of L 86 were making a final check of garbage fire which had been extinguished when some rotted planks on the dock they were walking collapsed. The water he fell into was deep and murky. It took several hours for divers to find him. RIP LT Hunt.

 

[mack]

 

[68jk09]

CONTINUED REST IN PEACE BROTHER.....while I was in 108 I responded to jobs alongside Charlie while he was in 146 & 732...... GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN !