Baldwin FD mourns fallen firefighter

Firefighters draped black and purple bunting across a Baldwin firehouse Wednesday morning, hours after a veteran member of the department fell ill while rushing to a fire and later died.

Standing below a memorial bearing the words "departed brother," Baldwin Fire Department Chief Kevin Smith said the loss of 21-year-veteran Michael Esposito was still sinking in.

"He gave his life and dedicated his life to the community and the Baldwin Fire Department," Smith said.

Esposito, 43, a gregarious former captain, was on Engine 201 en route to a pre-dawn house fire when he alerted his fellow firefighters he was having discomfort in his chest.

With his colleagues battling a fire that threatened to engulf a Grand Avenue home, Esposito joked as he was checked by medical personnel, Smith said.

"He was kidding around, saying, 'You guys go fight the fire, I'll take a little ride to the hospital,' " Smith said. "He thought he was fine and said he'd be right back."

Esposito was taken by ambulance to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was pronounced dead at 5:02 a.m., the victim of a heart attack, Smith said.

"We lost a family member today," he said.

Esposito's brother, Todd Esposito, 41, a former department chief, said he and Michael joined the department in 1989, and fought their first fire together the next year. Esposito described his brother as a joker who "liked to get under people's skin."

"He was a lovable, big guy," he said. "Everybody enjoyed his company."

Esposito is survived by two sisters, two brothers, and his father, Gerard, 70.

Smith said Esposito had a required physical exam "within the past few weeks" and was given a clean bill of health.

Mourners made pilgrimages to the firehouse through the afternoon. Among them was Theresa Caporale, 40, of Baldwin, who placed a bouquet of flowers at the front of the firehouse. Caporale volunteered in the 1990s with Esposito and said she was heartbroken.

"You have a brother firefighter who went down in the line of duty, there's nothing to say," she said.

County officials and police interviewed witnesses and examined the Grand Avenue home where the fire broke out about 3:30 a.m.

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Thomas Tilley said most of the eight people inside escaped through a door adjacent to where the fire began on the front porch, spreading into the attic and second floor. None were seriously hurt.

"The occupants were very lucky to get out because of where the fire was," he said. The fire is under investigation by fire marshals and police arson detectives. No cause has been determined.

"We're not leaning toward an arson and we're not leaning toward an accident," Tilley said.

Town of Hempstead officials were unable to do a complete inspection because of damage, but found no violations in the single-family home.

Among the people who escaped was a 72-year-old grandmother, her adult children and a 9-year-old boy. The grandmother was taken to a hospital with anxiety, officials said.

The only other Baldwin firefighter to die in the line of duty was Stephen Barry, who died in June 1975, officials said.

With John Valenti

and Gary Dymski