Long Island Fire Truck Displays Confederate Flag

Posted on by Sophie Robinson

A Long Island fire truck displayed a Confederate flag for a drive-by event over the weekend, sparking outrage among residents as well as an investigation.

What We Know:

  • The truck was from the volunteer Brookhaven Fire Department in Suffolk County and had the Confederate flag draped down its left side, according to a photo posted to social media Sunday. The truck was part of a drive-by event honoring a longtime Patchogue firefighter battling cancer.

  • Brookhaven Fire Department Chief, Peter Di Pinto Jr, apologized in a statement on Sunday after the photo of the truck surfaced on social media. “The unauthorized action was done without the knowledge of our leadership team and is condemned in the strongest of terms,” Di Pinto Jr said. “We can assure our community that ‘Racism has no home in our Firehouse’.” Di Pinto added that the incident involved a sole firefighter who acted alone in erecting the flag during the non-response event. Both the fire department and the town board say they are investigating the matter and no other details have been released.
  • Brookhaven Councilman Michael Loguercio said in a statement the town board “condemns the display of this symbol of racism and hatred in the strongest possible terms”. He also clarified that there’s no affiliation between the local government and the local fire department despite the same name. “It is our hope that those responsible for this hurtful display will be found, identified, and be held accountable for their actions,” Loguercio said.
  • Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri Jr. attended the drive-by event for the former firefighter as well and said he didn’t think there was racist intent behind the photo, saying the person responsible may have been trying to celebrate a department drill team nicknamed the rebels — a move he said was tone-deaf and that it is “hurting all”.
  • Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said he was “disturbed and angered” by the incident. “While one incident or individual is not reflective of an entire Fire Department, it is a reminder that we still have more work to do to eradicate hate and bigotry on Long Island,” Bellone said in a series of tweets on Sunday. Bellone called for the county and state human-rights commissions to investigate the incident.
  • The photo quickly began circling Twitter and Facebook, sparking outrage. Local activist and former town supervisor candidate Will Ferraro spoke out on Facebook condemning the act, calling it “disgraceful and blatantly racist”. In one post Ferraro said, “You do realize New York fought against the confederacy, right? Also want to note that Brookhaven FD is the volunteer fire dept from the hamlet of Brookhaven… so if you are a homeowner in Brookhaven hamlet, your tax dollars pay for the FD!”
  • Another Twitter user called the act a depiction of “Trump’s Long Island.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo got involved on Monday, saying that he was “appalled” by the actions and that he was directing the state’s Division of Human Rights to investigate. “We have zero tolerance for symbols of racism or division.” The investigation is ongoing.

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