1st noncitizen poised to join Hempstead FD

At the scene of a burning house, Oscar Parraga learned children were trapped inside. He rushed in to help, armed only with a rickety stepladder and a garden hose.

Recalling that night some six years ago, Parraga said he carried two girls and a boy to safety. Three other children died in the inferno.

The experience in his native Ecuadorean town of Puerto Bolívar convinced Parraga, now a Village of Hempstead resident, that he wanted to fight fires and save lives.

When he applied to join the 225-volunteer Hempstead Fire Department earlier this year, though, he was rejected. The reason: He wasn't a U.S. citizen.

Parraga, a legal immigrant, got help from the Nassau chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union to challenge that requirement. The appeal prompted the department to revise its admittedly antiquated rules this summer.

Now Parraga is poised to become Hempstead's first noncitizen firefighter. He's submitted the needed documentation, passed the medical tests. All that's left to make it official is an Oct. 4 vote by the village board.

"I am extremely happy that I will finally be able to do it," said Parraga, 23, who installs fire-safety systems for a living. "I can't wait to put on that uniform and help."

Village Mayor Wayne Hall called the change "a good move" -- overdue in a village with a growing immigrant population from Latin America. Nearly half of Hempstead's 54,000 residents are Hispanic, according to the latest census figures.

The citizenship requirement violated prohibitions against discrimination based on national origin in state law and the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, said Samantha Fredrickson, director of NYCLU's Nassau County chapter.

"Here's someone who wants to run into a burning building and save people. Why would you deny someone who wants to do that?" she said.

The department's bylaws date back to 1832 and deserved to be updated in order to better fit the village's new reality, according to Hempstead Fire Chief Charles W. Hendry.

"We were actually very willing to change it," he said. "It's not like we can't use the help."

Each Long Island fire department sets its own membership rules. Officials with firefighting organizations in Nassau and Suffolk said they'd welcome an influx of volunteers from immigrant groups. Besides fighting fires, volunteers fluent in Spanish and other languages would be a plus.

Ryan Murphy, spokesman for the Suffolk County Firemen's Association, said many local departments require immigrants to provide only state identification, such as a driver's license, to prove their legal status.

"I don't see any resistance to them joining," Murphy said. "I almost want to say that I hope this becomes a problem that fire departments have to address," since volunteers are always needed.

Parraga, who came to the United States to find a job and reunite with relatives, said Hempstead's rule change allows him to realize his dream.

In Ecuador, he grew up watching his grandfather, Marcelino Rosales, put his life on the line as a Puerto Bolívar firefighter.

"It's not anyone who can risk his life to help others," Parraga said, "and I admire that and want to be part of that."