He's a fireman by profession, but putting his life on the line doesn't end when the uniform comes off. Roma Torre introduces our New Yorker of the Week.

Responding to emergencies is what Kevin Delano does best. He's the chief of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department in South Ozone Park, Queens.

"Kevin sets the stage. He's a people person," says volunteer firefighter Archie Koenemund. "He's definitely a people person."

"It's a lot of person to be afraid of, but he's a really nice guy," jokes fellow volunteer Richard Farino, Jr.

Kevin, 47, has been with the volunteer fire department since he was 17.

"We cover from the Belt Parkway all the way to the North Channel Bridge, going from 78th Street headed east all the way to 104th Street," points out Kevin on a map of their district.

When he isn't volunteering, Kevin is working his day job, which is, you guessed it, as a city firefighter, assigned to Ladder Company 142, also in South Ozone Park.

"He has taken this fire department from being in a trailer when I got here nine years ago, to the beautiful firehouse we are standing in right now," says Robert Leonard, another volunteer at the station.

It was Kevin who convinced the local councilman to help out with grants to build the firehouse almost ten years ago, and to buy equipment, including two fire trucks and two ambulances.

"Both can go out at the same time and handle separate calls," says Kevin of the ambulances. "They are both equipped through New York State, certified as an ambulance, and we average roughly 450 ambulance calls a year."

They also average some 200 fire calls.

Councilman Al Stabile says the volunteers provide a vital service. "It's not that the fire department can't service this area, but they do more than just a fire department," he says. "Throughout the community they have served in so many ways, from Christmastime playing Santa Claus, to everything else."

This is Kevin's last year as chief, but he says he will remain a member for life. "My wife, after thirty years, is very accustomed to me leaving in the middle of dinner, leaving in the middle of birthdays, communions, even Christmas dinner," he says. "She was my partner in this for thirty years."

Now their 17-year-old son is following in his footsteps.

"This firehouse has really been a part of my family for so long," says Kevin Delano, Jr. "So when I got old enough to join, I figured I'd come down and see what my father did for all these years."

So for dedicating a lifetime to helping others, Kevin Delano is our New Yorker of the Week.

- Roma Torre

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For more information on the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department, call (718) 323-0871 or visit their website at www.whbfd.org.