Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman honored a volunteer firefighter Wednesday, June 25, for rescuing a sacred Torah scroll from a synagogue basement engulfed in flames, calling it a courageous act of religious and communal preservation.
Firefighter Michael Farca, of the Roslyn Highlands Fire Company, was recognized during a press conference at the Nassau County Executive Building for retrieving a Torah scroll, the central sacred text of Judaism, from the Chabad of Greenvale following an early-morning fire on the day after Shavuot, a significant Jewish holiday.
“He was in a situation where he could have been injured, as all volunteer firefighters expose themselves to danger, and they are part of the reason why we are the safest county in America,” Blakeman said.
Joined by county officials, religious leaders, and fire service personnel, Blakeman presented Farca with a citation recognizing his “brave achievement and heroism.”
“The Torah is sacred to the Jewish people,” Blakeman said. “Michael knew how important it was and took action. His courage reflects the very best of our volunteer firefighters.”
According to Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro, the fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. in a mixed-use office building. While flames burned through the first floor into the basement, Farca entered the building as part of a search team and located the synagogue, unmarked and filled with smoke. Despite difficult conditions, he opened a heavy steel door, discovered the ark, and safely removed the scrolls.
“These folks grow up in these neighborhoods,” said Uttaro. “They know about different things, they know about different traditions, whether religious or ethnic traditions, and firefighter Farca was in the right place, at the right time, and knew enough to go down there before water was applied, before things got damaged or destroyed.”
Farca credited the entire firefighting team.
“There were a good 60-plus firefighters there that day; they really stood the test and sacrificed their time and energies to make this possible,” Farca said.
Igor Shamalov, president of Chabad of Greenvale, presented Farca with a handcrafted rose, courtesy of Rockets into Roses, made from iron dome shrapnel. Rockets into Roses is an art initiative by Israeli sculptor Yaron Bob that transforms fragments of rockets fired into Israel into one-of-a-kind, hand‑sculpted roses, jewelry and Judaica, each piece symbolically turning instruments of war into expressions of hope and faith, with proceeds supporting victims of conflict.
Shamalov said the rose represents “strength rising from destruction.”
Nassau County Legislators John Ferretti and Mazi Pilip also spoke at the event, linking the rescue to broader issues of Jewish identity and safety.
Pilip, an Israeli-American and IDF veteran, called the Torah’s preservation “deeply personal and spiritual,” especially amid a rise in global antisemitism and the emotional toll following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Ferretti cited a recent antisemitic incident involving swastikas found in Point Lookout, Town of Hempstead beach, saying Farca’s actions were a reminder of Nassau County’s commitment to fighting hate.
