Nick Ruggiero oversaw the growth of the Spring Hill Fire Department from "meager beginnings" to the establishment of three fire stations with paid staff, dispatchers, EMTs and up to date fire engines and ambulances.
Looking at the statement above in the year 2016, without prior knowledge of those meager beginnings, it is difficult to understand the progress that was made between the time Ruggiero started as a volunteer with the Department in 1968 and when he resigned as Fire Chief in 1985.
A hearse for an ambulance, an air raid siren to call hands to the firehouse, a 27 year old Air Force crash truck for a fire engine were just some of the makeshift items that got the job done in the department's earliest days. Not to mention, the nearest hospital was in Brooksville.
Ruggiero and his wife Ethel, originally from Long Island, were first generation Deltona Corp. recruits. Ethel saw an ad in the paper for a free ticket down to Florida to check out the Deltona development. So they brought their family down in 1968 to settle in Spring Hill. While their house was built, the family of 5 stayed in a tiny hotel room.
To put food on the table, Ruggiero worked as a diesel mechanic at Chatman's Buick/Oldsmobile on 41. While he worked at Chatman's he befriended Jim Adkins, currently a county commissioner, formerly a firefighter and Brooksville Fire Chief.
Ruggiero's daughter Tina Kycynka, who was a Weeki Wachee mermaid from 1980 to 1983, recalls a childhood that not too many have the privilege of these days. She and her siblings played outdoors. They went to school (bused to Brooksville) and spent most of their time with the family.
After Ruggiero resigned from the Spring Hill Fire Department amidst political turmoil in 1985, he entered the Brooksville Fire Department as a Captain. He became Deputy Fire Chief in Brooksville and developed the Emergency Management System for Hernando County, as well as surrounding counties.
He retired from the Brooksville Fire Department in 1996. In an interview with the St. Pete Times, Ruggiero reflected on the differences in service between the two departments. In the Spring Hill department, he said that he did not experience very many intense fires. There were more rescues, since the population was older and the houses were newer. Although he did recount pulling a fellow firefighter from a burning house in Hernando Beach and the time liquid propane leaked from a line break along US 19, forming a cloud of gas. Ruggiero fought more fires in Brooksville. In 1989, he found himself in a scary situation on the second story porch of a burning historic home on South Brooksville Avenue when the porch started to give way.
Ruggiero was dedicated to serving his community in addition to his work in fire rescue. He ran a kids club in Spring Hill, ensuring that there were activities for local kids at a time when there were just around 100 residents. He always helped to bring food and needed items to those less fortunate.
It would be remiss not to mention Ruggiero's service to our country. He served in the Air Force in the Korean War. He was wounded in an air raid and spent over a year in multiple hospitals. He was a Purple Heart recipient.
Ruggiero was a role model for his children and grandchildren. His son, Jim Ruggiero, followed in his footsteps, becoming a Lieutenant in the Spring Hill department and then moved on to the Clearwater Department in 1983 where he worked his way up to Fire Lieutenant after many years as a driver. Jim retired in 2009. Nick Ruggiero's granddaughter Christina Bonczek Schoenmetz is an EMT/ Paramedic who will graduate with a nursing degree in December. She currently works in the ER at Oak Hill.
After retirement, Nick Ruggiero spent time with his wife at the log home he built off of Powell Road in Brooksville.
Jim Adkins has helped to organize a proper send off for his friend and colleague Nick Ruggiero. Representatives from all fire departments in the state of Florida have been invited to formally honor Ruggiero and his service to community, nation and family on August 10th.
The church memorial service will take place at 10 am on Wednesday August 10th at the New Beginnings Life Center Church. Donations can be made to Hospice House. Flowers can be sent to New Beginnings Life Center or to Nick Ruggiero's wife Ethel. Nick Ruggiero's inurnment will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell with military honors.
In remembering Ruggiero's life, we remember an important part of our history here in Hernando County.
New Beginnings Life Center is located at: 3350 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606