On December 28, 2015, Valerie Bauman wrote in NY Newsday about Dix Hills volunteer firefighters, who are raising money for one of their fellow volunteers.Lt. John Vierling, a 20-year veteran NYPD officer, retired in 2003 from police work, but continued to volunteer as a firefighter.
Vierling has a rare and terminal form of liver cancer from his work during his three-month stint at the recovery effort at the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.