Ronnie Gies, 43, graduated Probie School in 1988 and by 1990 had moved into Special Operations with Squad 288 in Queens. For 25 years, Gies had also been a volunteer firefighter in Merrick, Long Island where he lived. He was Chief of Department there twice. When his own house burned down in 1999, the hardest thing for Gies was to be the recipient of favors and the charity of his neighbors and friends. He was much more comfortable with and used to being the one who helped others.
Thankfully he had a lot of carpentry skills and he built his family a new home, including a large finished basement for his three sons, “the boys,” aged 19, 17, and 14. “They were what he lived for.”
His promotion to Lieutenant was made September 10th, but he never knew. It was awarded to him posthumously later that fall.