December 18, 2025

Beacon's Fire Chief Luccesi Receives Honor For Stopping Wrong-Way Car On I-84; Recounts Incident In His Own Words

December 18, 2025/ Katie Hellmuth

During the December 15, 2025 City Council Meeting, the last of the year, Mayor Lee Kyriacou formally honored City of Beacon Fire Chief Thomas Luccesi for his heroic effort in stopping an elderly woman from continuing to drive the wrong way down the fast lane of I-84 the morning of October 31st at 8:30am. "My wife makes fun of me," Chief Luccesi said as he began recounting the event to the City Council after accepting his plaque, "I guess you can't take the cop out of me sometimes."

Before presenting him with the plaque, Mayor Kyriacou said: "You did a pretty amazing thing. The fact that you were in the area at just the right moment is absolutely incredible...Amazingly, you somehow managed to get in front of that person and then get them off the road without anyone being injured or killed or even an accident, which is pretty amazing. And done on Halloween, let alone," Mayor Kyriacou said before presenting Chief Luccesi with the plaque.

In a press release issued by the City of Beacon the day of the incident that was reported on here and here, Chief Luccesi was quoted as saying: "It’s not often that my heart drops and my adrenaline spikes outside of a fire scene,” Chief Lucchesi said. “As I rounded a curve, I suddenly saw a car coming straight at me. Vehicles were swerving everywhere to avoid her.”

After accepting his honor this week at City Council, with City of Beacon Firefighters and his wife and children sitting behind him, Chief Luccesi told the story of how he managed to stop the driver from continuing driving the wrong way:

"I was returning from dropping off one of our members to pick up one of our apparatus that was out of service.

“I ended up going in front of her, figuring that either she’ll hit me or she’ll, you know, stop on her own. ”

— CIty of Beacon Fire Chief Thomas Luccesi

"I went to I-84; turned a podcast on. I was sort of zoned out - not really paying attention - you know - just driving down the road. I look up and there's a car coming at me in the left hand lane - in the fast lane.

"Cars were diving all over trying to get out of her way. I swerved out of the way. She passed me. As she drove by, I saw an elderly woman who just looked like she was out for a Sunday drive.

"I spun around real quick." From the press release, Chief Luccesi also turned on his emergency lights and siren. "As I spun around, there was nothing but what looked like smoke and I was really nervous that I thought she got in an accident. Ended up being tractor trailers locking their brakes up trying to get out of her way.

"It took probably a minute or two to catch up to her, and she was just still driving in the left-hand lane. I ended up going in front of her, figuring that either she'll hit me or she'll, you know, stop on her own. And luckily she stopped and she said she she made a wrong turn.

"Fortunately, no one got hurt." Then Chief Luccesi motioned to the City of Beacon Firefighters sitting behind him. "Any one of these guys here would have done the same exact thing, same circumstance. So I appreciate it very much. Thank you."

On the day of the incident, Mayor Kyriacou thanked the Chief, saying: "The Chief’s quick thinking and courageous action likely saved one or more lives today, and the City of Beacon is fortunate to have a Fire Chief who always goes above and beyond to help others. Job well, done, Chief Lucchesi."

April 16, 2025

Fire At 9 Alice Street - Murphy Residence - Engulfs House With Entrapment Inside - One Person Perished, Two Injured

April 16, 2025/ Katie Hellmuth

The Murphy Mailbox at 9 Alice Street.
Photo Credit: Katie HEllmuth

Update: The City of Beacon Fire Department issued a press release describing the fire, how firefighters battled it, and the full identification of the deceased: Eugene (Gene) Murphy, a retired City of Beacon Highway Supervisor, an employee of 30 years.

The fire department published this video of the firefighters battling the fire.

At 6:30pm Tuesday evening (4/15/2025), while the sun broke to open more flowing buds on the trees, a fire raged and engulfed a small home at 9 Alice Street.

When neighbors called to report the fire, they said that people were trapped inside, according to reporting at MidHudson News.

The homeowner, Mr. Murphy, perished, and two other occupants who were cousins of some Beacon residents, were taken to Montefiore St. Luke’s-Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh by Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances for burns and smoke inhalation.

An ALS ambulance is staffed by paramedics or firefighter/medics, who has additional training to dispense additional treatments to treat a patient when going to the hospital, who is especially in need of cardiac or pulmonary care. They serve as ICUs (Intensive Care Units).

Alice Street is a side-street on the east side of Beacon, near the mountain. The homes range in age, some a century old. Neighbors in the local Beacon NY Facebook Group said they smelled burning rubber, could see the fire from Falconer Street, and others said they saw black smoke from Washington and Spring Streets, and rolling up East Main Street.

According to the scanner, it was a 2 alarm fire, with several agencies reporting, including City of Beacon, Castle Point, Village of Fishkill. Drivers on 9D for the commute home could see the fire engine rushing toward Beacon at that hour. First reports identified it as 12 Alice Street, but it was 9 Alice Street. Glenham and Rombout were on standby.

Ambulnz arrived with additional ALS requested. BVAC requested Medivac. Two helicopters were called to transport victims, but the Mediflight was canceled before it landed, according to one resident reporting from the scanner. People enjoying Memorial Park in the early evening could see the helicopters flying overhead, which use the park as a landing zone in medical emergencies to prepare for transport to area hospitals.

Details of the Fire

The fire looks to have started in the front of the house, spreading to the left and out, scorching the top of the blue car parked in front. The house previously had creme siding, but after the fire, the house was black where the fire burned.

A cream truck parked to the right of the blue car had its hood popped, and the hood of the blue car was completely blown back. All windows from the blue car were gone. The back right tire of the blue car was ripped or flat, which may have been like that previous, or a result of the fire.

The right side of the porch still had siding on it, with some smoke markings, but the left side of the porch was completely charred. The siding on that side of the house had come off, with some heat damage done to the siding of neighboring house to the left.

The front porch and first floor was burned to the studs, as was the second floor and attic. Scanner reports indicated fire on both floors of the house with the attic and both floors "darkened down" while fire fighters searched for people or animals inside.

A black pickup truck parked to the left of the house had its back window blown out, and the drivers side window was shattered in place.

Beacon's City Administrator was observing the damage with other officials at approximately 8:15am Wednesday morning. Cars casually drove past the house all morning to look at the damage and ask about any known details.

Photo Credit All Photos: Katie Hellmuth