NEWS | THE LONG-ISLANDER, OCTOBER 28, 2004

The Heroes at Habberstad

County honors civilian and emergency rescuers

By Michael R. Sisak / The Long-Islander

Stories of heroism and triumph emerged from the smoky rubble in the hours after the massive October 12 explosion that leveled the used car dealership at Habberstad Nissan on Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station.

Related Story:
‘Buried in Rubble’
(Long-Islander, Oct. 14, 2004)

These were the stories of the mechanics who rushed to the caved building and held part of the collapsed roof so it would not sink further; the delicatessen owner, the waiter and the customer from a nearby store who ran inside, forsaking their own safety to pull the trapped and injured to safety; and the volunteer firefighters who slinked into a void and made the final rescue before smoke and fire swelled through the structure.

The immediate response and collaborative effort eliminated the possibility of more a serious calamity. Nine people were injured. There were no fatalities.

“This is what heroism is all about. I often say that [heroism] is a term that is overused within our culture, but these are true heroes,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said, last Thursday, as he honored the rescuers in a ceremony at the county offices in Hauppauge. “Not the baseball players or the rock stars, but just everyday citizens, or our law enforcement personnel, or our fire department volunteers or ambulance volunteers, or people just driving by who get out of their cars and put themselves in danger to help others. That’s what a hero is.”

Chaos reigned in the moments after the explosion. Fifteen people had been inside the building at the time of the blast, which was fueled by a leak in a four-inch natural gas pipe that runs under Jericho Turnpike. The prospect of survivors looked dim.

Bryan Winzer, a lieutenant with the Huntington Manor Fire Department, and Michael Pastore, the department’s former chief, were among the first trained emergency workers to arrive on scene.

“When I got there and saw what happened, I’m amazed that no one was killed,” said Winzer, who has served with the department for 10 years. “The front door of the building was blown clear across the street. That shows you the force that this explosion had. Everyone lucked out.”

Winzer and Pastore entered the building together and climbed through the wreckage to save Jason Menegio, the last employee trapped inside.

“They said there was one more person inside,” Pastore explained. “We could hear a voice but we didn’t know where it was … we tried with a flashlight to see if he could see the light. He couldn’t see the light because he was too far buried underneath the rubble … Finally we heard the voice … I went to that area and he stuck two fingers, or part of a hand, out of the rubble ... We started pulling everything off of him: chairs, concrete, sheetrock ... then the fire started right behind him.”

In the initial minutes after the blast, civilian rescuers rushed toward the wreckage to help pull victims to safety.

Tim Gibson, of Greenlawn, was shopping at a nearby auto parts store, when the explosion occurred. He plunged into the debris, sifted through wreckage and helped rescue the most seriously injured of the victims, the used car manager Danny Penna.

“It was definitely the most surreal thing you’ve ever seen,” said Gibson. “I was happy that I could help get Danny out. He’s really just a sweetheart, a nice guy. I was amazed that he wasn’t hurt more than he was. I had to pick a cinderblock wall up off of his head, and my great concern was that I didn’t want anybody to see how badly his head was injured, because Danny was so alert the whole time.”

Penna suffered lacerations to the head, which required over 200 stitches at Huntington Hospital, a partially severed ear and a concussion, according to Howard Habberstad Jr., the owner of the dealership who was at a dealer conference in Smyrna, Tennessee at the time of the explosion.

While Gibson was aiding Penna from the building, other civilians were helping a pair of female employees, who had been working on the second floor and who had become trapped amid desks, cabinets and ruins.

“Every time we heard a woman cry out, ‘I’m over here, I’m over here, I’m over here,’ we just started pulling debris off and it’s literally amazing that no one died in that catastrophe. It was just inspiring,” said Walter Shivers, of Huntington. Shivers had been working as a waiter at Panama Hatties, the restaurant in the shopping center east of Habberstad Nissan, when he felt the blast.

“We heard voices. That’s what I focused on. I just wanted to get to the voices I could hear,” said Anthony Rizzo, the owner Anthony’s Delicatessen, which is located near the dealership.

“It was an absolute miracle,” said John Maier, the deputy chief of the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, which coordinated the transportation and hospitalization of victims.

“We all watch disaster movies, and in a disaster movie people are running around and they’re in a panic and no one knows what to do,” Robert A. Moore, Chief of Department of the Suffolk County Police, said. “You know what happens when a disaster strikes? This is what happens … your brothers, your sisters, total strangers, they come for you too. They will always be there. That’s the kind of country we live in. That’s the kind of community Suffolk County is.”