BY SCOTT WATERS
When a Congers house fire was called in to dispatchers last week, Deputy Coordinator Al Magnatta, 44-2, headed to the Alert Hook, Ladder & Engine Company #1, Congers FD Station, put on his gear, boarded one of the company’s fire trucks and operated on the scene of the blaze.
It is a routine that the 94-year-old World War II veteran Magnatta has gone through countless times. The beloved elder statesman of Rockland County firefighting has been a volunteer with Company #1 since 1946 – an astonishing 73 years, and is still going strong.
Magnatta is one of two Rockland County deputy fire coordinators representing the Clarkstown area, a title he has held since 1962, the longest of any deputy coordinator serving in Rockland County. The lifelong Rockland County resident is also a small business owner.
Brian Duddy, an admin of the popular Rockland Fires webpage, declared Magnatta “a legend in the Rockland County fire service!”
Photo by NYS Fire Coordinators
The Ageless Al Magnatta – Legend of Rockland County Firefighting added by rctadmin on
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