By Jay Tokasz
Buffalo News
Copyright 2007 The Buffalo News
All Rights Reserved
SENECA, N.Y. — Seneca Hose Fire Company No. 1 was out of service for emergency calls on Sunday, following the death of the volunteer company’s fire chief, Daniel B. Shanahan Jr., in a Chautauqua County highway crash.
Several dozen volunteer firefighters gathered at the Seneca Street station anyway, sharing hugs and shedding tears as they remembered their fallen colleague.
“We will all hold through and get through this together,” said First Assistant Fire Chief Craig Gangloff. “It’s what Dan would have wanted all of us to do.”
Shanahan, 43, was driving to his job as a state corrections officer at the Lakeview Shock Facility in Brocton when his vehicle collided with another on Route 5 in the Town of Portland on Sunday morning, state police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the other vehicle is also a corrections officer.
John A. Mackowiak, 55, was headed eastbound, on his way home to Dunkirk from his job as a guard at the Chautauqua County Jail.
Mackowiak was transported by Starflight helicopter to Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., where he was in serious condition Sunday night.
Shanahan was elected fire chief of the 55-member company about 2 1/2 years ago. He joined the company in 1994.
Shanahan’s son, Daniel, 18, also was getting ready to volunteer, following a stint as a fire explorer with Vigilant Fire Co., according to members of Seneca Hose.
Shanahan was remembered as a devoted husband and father. His is survived by his wife, Gina, his son and his daughter, Erin.
“He was a dedicated family man, he was a dedicated firefighter, he was a dedicated fire chief. He gave 100 percent,” said Norm Brem, chairman of the board of commissioners for Seneca Fire District No. 5. “We lost our leader and our friend.”
Shanahan was a 1982 graduate of West Seneca West High School.
The Seneca Hose chief’s SUV that Shanahan was driving, a 2005 Ford Expedition, collided with Mackowiak’s 1999 Dodge pickup on a curve on Route 5, west of Berry Road, at about 7:25 a.m., State Police said.
As chief, Shanahan was empowered as a first responder anywhere in Erie County and the Expedition was fully equipped as a first response vehicle, Gangloff said.
Troopers said both men were using their seat belts, and the front air bags deployed.
The state police’s Troop A Collision Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene, and the investigation is continuing.
Seneca Hose Company No. 1 was scheduled to be out of service until 7 a.m. today and during Shanahan’s funeral.
Funeral information had not been finalized on Sunday.