Commack firefighters host blood drive for slain cop

Commack firefighters host blood drive for slain cop

Suffolk County police, Commack Fire Department to honor Glen Ciano at Feb. 10 event

Susan Ciano announces the 8th annual blood drive in memory of her late husband, former Suffolk County police officer Glen Ciano. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh.

Suffolk County police and Commack firefighters will be holding a blood drive to honor an officer who died in the line of duty.

The 8th annual Glen Ciano Memorial Blood Drive will be at the Commack Fire Department’s main firehouse on Jericho Turnpike Feb. 10, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It is our honor to honor Glen in this way,” said Pat Fazio, commissioner of the Commack Fire Department. “Glen was someone who gave everything,100 percent of the time and he gave it all.”

Officer Ciano, a 22-year Suffolk County Police Department veteran who worked out of the 2nd Precinct in Huntington, died while responding to a call for backup Feb. 22, 2009. While at the intersection of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road in Commack, his vehicle was struck by a 2007 Dodge Magnum and burst into flames upon hitting a nearby telephone pole.

The driver of the Dodge Magnum, Jose Borbon, pled guilty to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and aggravated driving while intoxicated in November 2010.

Fazio said the Commack Fire Department renamed its blood drive after Ciano upon his death to honor his service to community residents and mentoring of firefighters in the department.

“It’s wonderful they are continuing his memory in a most appropriate fashion by having this blood drive every year,” said Stuart Cameron, chief of department for Suffolk County police. “By having a blood drive in his memory, it’s a way for him to continue helping his community by supporting people an donating blood.”

Ciano’s wife, Susan, said she attends the event each and every year, talking to attendees about their memories of her husband.

“What I look forward to in February — it’s a tough month for me — is this blood drive,” she said. “When I go, I see many of the same people and many new people. I am there all day long because I want to thank people for giving their time.”

The blood drive will be held at the main fire house, located at 6309 Jericho Turnpike in Commack. Donors must be between the ages of 16, with signed parental consent, and 75 years old, with doctor’s written permission.