State honors Nyack firefighter killed in '26
October 7, 2009
By Joseph Spector
Journal Albany Bureau
ALBANY -- Gomer Morgan died in 1926 after battling a yacht fire as a member of the Nyack Fire Department. On Tuesday, more than 83 years later, he was honored by the state and added to its Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
Morgan, who died at age 34 fighting the Rockland County blaze, was among 12 fallen firefighters added to the memorial Tuesday, including five who died in the line of duty in 2008.
The name of Ryan Barker, a 25-year-old volunteer fireman with the West Hill Fire Department in Chemung County, was put on the memorial wall after he died in a crash while returning from a call July 8, 2008. He was also honored Sunday during the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Maryland.
Among the others honored were a Broome County fireman killed in 1942 and a Cayuga County fireman who died in 1936.
Barker's wife, Jane, said the recognition of her husband's duty helps the healing.
"People taking the time to remember what these volunteers and career firefighters do, it's special," she said as she looked at the wall.
The state has put 2,348 names on the wall since the memorial was dedicated in 1998, with firefighters recognized dating back to 1811.
For Morgan's family, the honor was particularly special since his service led to three generations serving as firefighters.
Morgan's grandson, Dennis, 44, of Orange County, accepted a folded New York flag on his behalf. Dennis Morgan had served 23 years with the Nyack Fire Department; his brother and father also served with the department.
"It's a great honor to have him remembered," Dennis said.
Even though none of the current firefighters served with Gomer Morgan at Nyack's Mazeppa Fire Engine Co. No. 2, it is important to remember his sacrifice to the department and the community, said James Hartwick, a veteran with the engine company. Hartwick put in the paperwork to the state to have Morgan honored.
"It became a significant part of the history of our company to pay tribute to a fallen firefighter after so many years," Hartwick said.
Barbara King wasn't even born when her uncle, Frank Bertin, died in 1942 at age 39 of a heart attack fighting a blaze with the Endicott Fire Department in Broome County. There is a memorial for him in Endicott, but she was on hand to honor him in Albany.
"It's incredible," said King, 65, who lives in Raleigh, N.C. "We never thought it would happen."
Edward Coiley's name was added to the wall Tuesday, more than 70 years after he died en route to a fire in the town of Locke, Cayuga County, on April 5, 1936. Coiley, who died at age 51, was chief of the Moravia Volunteer Fire Department.
Hartwick said the memorial underscores the job's danger.
"It always makes us think that whenever that alarms sounds, there is always an opportunity to maybe save a life," he said. "You never think about the fact that maybe one of our own will lose their life."
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