March 15, 2018
Christopher J. Raguso
A loving father of two little girls. A role model of a firefighter. A big gentle giant. Jerome Quigley, a commissioner with the Commack Fire Department, used those words to describe Raguso, who he knew for 20 years. Raguso served as a lieutenant in the Commack Fire Department and in the FDNY.
“The guy was just a big gentle giant,” Quigley said. “He was a big guy and the first thing he would do is just grab you, hug you and kiss you on the forehead.”
Raguso, who lived in Commack with his wife and two daughters, celebrated his 39th birthday the day before the crash, and he spent some of that day on FaceTime with his two daughters, ages 5 and 6.
“He was a total family man. He spent a lot of time with the department and when he was off, he spent it with his family,” Quigley said.
Laura Raguso of East Northport choked up as she struggled with news of her son’s death. “I just can’t talk right now,” Raguso said through tears.
Raguso, a 13-year veteran of the FDNY, was stationed at Division 13 in Richmond Hill, Queens.
He joined the FDNY in March 2005 and was assigned to Ladder Company 113 in Flatbush, Brooklyn. In September 2016, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Battalion 50 in Jamaica, Queens, the FDNY said. The department said Raguso was honored on six occasions for bravery and lifesaving actions.
Quigley said Raguso was attached to a search-and-rescue unit. He was an engineer on the helicopter and manned the gun on the side of the aircraft.
“Anytime he was asked to go and serve he never turned it down,” Quigley said.
The two men had known each other a long time, so Friday was a day of grief and memories. Quigley recalled that they had spoken only two days earlier.
“He sent me pictures of him shooting, you know, practice shooting, and I sent him pictures from when I was in and we were joking back and forth,” said Quigley, who had served as a Marine in Iraq. “And I just said keep your head down and be safe. That was it.”
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