Aguiar: Riverhead firefighters who rushed into burning building to save two elderly women made false claims about rescue

Supervisor Yvette Aguiar, in a “hot mic” moment during yesterday’s work session, disparaged two volunteer firefighters — both Riverhead Town employees — who saved two elderly women from a burning building earlier this year, accusing them of fabricating the story of their rescue.

Aguiar was speaking to Council Member Tim Hubbard during a transition between work session topics about a ceremony State Senator Anthony Palumbo was having yesterday afternoon at the library honoring First Assistant Chief J.R. Renten and Firefighter Frank Greenwood, with Liberty Medals.

The Liberty Medal is the highest honor awarded to a citizen by the New York State Senate and is given to those who commit heroic or humanitarian acts.

When Hubbard asked the supervisor whether the Town Board was going to the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts with the lengthy work session, the microphone at the dais caught their conversation. 

“I’m not going to that…Do you know the circumstance of that? They never — yeah, everybody was out and they made all these claims in the newspaper,” Aguiar said, disputing the version of events relayed by the firefighters and implying they lied about their rescue. “So the community in Pulaski is up in arms about it. So that’s why I just sent a certificate of appreciation,” Aguiar told Hubbard.

Listen:

Aguiar then turned her attention to the next matter on the agenda at the prompting of the deputy supervisor, who had been trying to get her attention. Hubbard and Council Member Ken Rothwell — who was seated between Aguiar and Hubbard and heard the conversation —  looked at each other in shock and bewilderment.

Renten and Greenwood, both veteran volunteer Riverhead firefighters and workers in the Riverhead Highway Department, were repairing sidewalks in Polish Town on Jan. 25 when a fire erupted in a nearby two-story building. An employee at a local office saw the fire and flagged the men down to help. Without any protective gear, Renten and Greenwood went into the smoke-filled burning building and rescued its two residents. They pulled out one woman, who was on an interior stairway trying to make her way to her upstairs neighbor’s apartment. Once outside, they heard the second-floor resident banging on an upstairs window. Both rushed back inside to save her.

MORE COVERAGE: Riverhead Town highway workers, both veteran volunteer firefighters, save two women from burning building in Polish Town

There is a screening process for issuing Liberty Medals. According to Chris Stazio, Palumbo’s Chief of Staff, the senator submitted the RiverheadLOCAL article on Renten and Greenwood’s save. The request needs to be approved by multiple offices and by the Senate President Pro Tempore Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Stazio said.

“I’m not sure why the town supervisor would say that,” Greenwood said today when told of Aguiar’s comments. “It’s disappointing to hear that she is questioning myself and J.R.’s integrity and actions. However, I know what we did, and that’s all that matters to me.”

In response to emailed questions about her comments, Aguiar did not address the questions posed by a reporter or apologize to the firefighters.

“If you noticed the executive session was huge,” Aguiar wrote. “I had prepared a certificate of appreciation and had Councilman Kern scheduled to attend. This was not my event and I was not canceling a Work Session. This was a Palumbo and I thank him for inviting us. There is time for the Town to work on their recognition” [verbatim]

In interviews today, both Hubbard and Rothwell said they were taken aback by her comments. 

“I had no idea what it’s about,” Hubbard said. “She said that she was going to talk to me about it. And after the meeting, I said to her, ‘what were you talking about with the firemen getting the award?’ She stomped out of the room and she said, ‘I’m not saying anything. I can’t trust anybody anymore.’”

“They’re two town employees, hard-working guys at the highway department, and it was a heroic save,” Hubbard said of Renten and Greenwood. “From what I have been told there may have been a fatality had they not been in the area and been there that soon.” 

Rothwell said the supervisor’s comments were “highly inappropriate” and “wrong,” and she owes the firefighters an apology. Aguiar’s statements don’t reflect Riverhead Town’s view of the firefighters’ actions, said Rothwell, who is a volunteer firefighter himself.

“What they did was extremely heroic. It was brave and they earned that award,” Rothwell said, referring to the Liberty Medal. “The award is the best way residents of the state of New York and everyone can say thank you very much for your heroic efforts and what you did that day.”

“They saved lives that day. If my house is on fire, those are the guys I want outside my window coming to get me,” said Rothwell.

“They pulled those two women out of that burning house. No question, no doubt,” Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski said in an interview. He said other employees in his department saw the woman on the second floor screaming for help and witnessed the firefighters’ heroism.

“How could you say that?” Zaleski said of Aguiar’s comments. “I’d be proud of my employees. I am proud of my employees. The guy ran against me and I’m still proud of him,” he said, referring to Renten, who he beat in the 2021 election. 

“Shame on her, that’s all I have to say,” Zaleski said.

This article was reported by Alek Lewis and Denise Civiletti.