Walking around the exterior of the house in Old Westbury, Roslyn Rescue Assistant Chief Sal Mirra was looking for obvious signs of fire.

The automatic fire alarm was wailing and the homeowners were not home. There was no heavy black smoke billowing from the house, no raging flames visible from the outside. It was the third automatic fire alarm call for Roslyn firefighters within a short period of time and there had been sporadic power outages throughout the day in Old Westbury, causing fire alarm after fire alarm to malfunction as the power was being restored. The routine of investigating false alarms had become familiar.

"I'm not sure if it was the sliver of black smoke by the window that caught my eye first, or if I caught a glimpse of an orange glow through a rear window," recalled Mirra, who was promoted to the rank of assistant chief at a ceremony just days earlier. "I just knew the first-due engine company was around the corner and I wanted to make sure they knew we had a confirmed fire."

Seconds later, the first arriving engine company was on-scene, connecting to a nearby fire hydrant and preparing to make an attack on the fire, which had now grown and begun to spread through the first floor from the basement. A general alarm was transmitted, summoning nearly 50 volunteer firefighters from the Roslyn Fire Companies who began arriving in a parade of trucks. The neighboring Glenwood Fire Company was also alerted to provide backup to Roslyn firefighters, according to standard departmental operating procedures from confirmed structural fires.

Led by Cap. Jeff Laureano and Lt. Michael DeGregorio, the first teams entered the residence from the rear door and made an initial attack and search for additional fire. Subsequently, arriving crews converged on the fire and assisted in the operation. Twenty minutes after their initial arrival, the Roslyn Fire Companies had the fire knocked down and extinguished.

Fire officials credit the automatic fire alarm with saving the residence from a tremendous amount of damage.

"It's amazing how the fire grew in the short few minutes I was on-scene before the first engine company arrived," noted Assistant Chief Mirra after the incident. "The fire alarm called us in the homeowner's absence and performed as it should have."

The incident topped off a busy Thanksgiving Day for Roslyn volunteer firefighters, who responded to a total of eight alarms and was strikingly reminiscent of last year when the companies responded to nine alarms on the holiday.

"As a volunteer organization we always have concerns about having adequate personnel available to respond on a holiday," explained Roslyn Highlands Assistant Chief Matthew McGeown, who helped oversee operations at the Old Westbury fire. He added that the back-to-back calls during the early evening hours kept many Roslyn volunteers away from their families for the entire thanksgiving meal.

While most organizations pay a wage differential to employees who must work on a holiday, fire officials cite a formidable challenge in staffing a volunteer organization with few tangible incentives.

For his part, Assistant Chief McGeown indicated that this is among the truest signs of community service and dedication, saying "the only incentive our men and women have to leave their families on a holiday like Thanksgiving is the goodwill associated with helping another member of the community."

For the second busiest Thanksgiving Day in a row, that goodwill was all that was needed.