Rich Ligon dies at 77 |
By Ex-Chief Nicholas Luparella/Denise Civiletti riverhead local | |
May 9, 2017 | |
Richard Ligon, who broke racial barriers when he joined the Riverhead Fire Department in 1977, died suddenly at his Riverhead home this morning. Ligon rose to the rank of captain in the Redbird Hook and Ladder Company and was later elected a commissioner of the Riverhead Fire District. He was 77 years old. Ligon was a dedicated firefighter who was well-known throughout New York State for his service in many different firefighting organizations. In Riverhead, he served as fire district commissioner from 2000 to 2004. He was Riverhead Firefighter of the Year in 1993. He was Redbird of the year in 1988, 1993 and 2008 and served as captain of the Ironman Racing Team. “Rich was a great guy a mentor to me when I got in,” said Gio Woodson, who 12 years after Ligon joined, became the second African-American firefighter in the Riverhead Fire Department. “Wherever I went as a firemen — upstate, out of state, in the city — everyone asked me did I know him,” Woodson said. Everyone who met the charismatic Ligon loved him. “He will be greatly missed,” he said. “Rest well, my brother.” “Riverhead has lost another good man,” Riverhead Fire Chief Kevin Brooks said this morning.
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