GREENVALE, N.Y. — For over half a century, Slant/Fin has called Long Island home. As with virtually everyone else in the New York metro area and New Jersey, everyone employed there was in some way affected by Hurricane Sandy. Some suffered damage to their homes and cars, and almost all were without power at home for a week or more.

Slant/Fin’s Greenvale, Long Island facility was one of many on the island that went cold and dark; however, as one of the country’s top manufacturers of gas, oil, and electric boilers and baseboard heating equipment, that didn’t stop the company’s staff from working almost around the clock to fill the quick and significant demand for its products. Using flashlights and later generator power, they filled orders not only for established customers, but for many in other storm-ravaged areas as well.

One of the very first orders sent out ‘in the dark’ was to the Coney Island Fire Department - Engine 318 & Ladder 166 - whose approximately 40 members were doing their best to serve as first responders to others in need without heat or power. Complicating the efforts to get their heat and hot water working again was the fact that water (the first floor was under seven feet of it) and other damage to the facility had to be repaired before a new boiler could be installed. Knowing how critical a new boiler was to the fire department’s own efforts to help others in their community, Slant/Fin’s staff made sure that a new boiler and hot water equipment was shipped to arrive precisely when its new Coney Island ‘home’ was ready to have it installed.

“The coordination and hard work of the people at Slant/Fin made a real difference to everyone in our Fire Department, and a lot of others in our area as well,” said Gerard Fitzgerald, sergeant at arms/health & safety officer for the UFA (Uniformed Firefighters Association) and member of Engine 318 & Ladder 166. “Knowing they were on the job enabled us to concentrate on getting the rest of our facility up and running without worrying about finding a new boiler. It came just when they said it would, was quickly installed, and we were back in business. Everyone at Slant/Fin has the deep appreciation of our entire department.”

“I’m incredibly proud of the response and efforts of the Slant/Fin family both during and following this terrible storm,” said company president Adam Dubin. “Even as they were dealing with their own ‘Sandy-related’ problems, our people worked tirelessly to help restore our neighbors’ heating systems that were damaged or destroyed. The first two weeks, in addition to helping the Coney Island Fire Department, we were shipping boilers in the dark and making baseboard by generator power to try and meet the enormous demand. I’m also proud to say that all of us at Slant/Fin are committed to continue working hard until everyone affected who needs our help is warm again.”

For more information, visit www.slantfin.com.

Publication date: 2/4/2013