On December 29, 2020, a funeral was held for Nassau County Fire Communications Dispatcher 63 Michael ‘Biggs’ James who passed away earlier in the month of December at the age of 44.
Aside from working at Fire Com, Mike worked dispatch at Hicksville, Plainview, Manhasset-Lakeville, Syosset, Baldwin, Bethpage, and in the Village of Hempstead (both police and fire). A former FDNY Dispatcher, Mike is credited with helping many new dispatchers learn the trade over the years and became well known throughout Nassau County and beyond.
On the morning of his services a small memorial service was held at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Rockville Centre. Once the memorial service concluded the procession began. Upon leaving the church the procession made its way into the Village of Hempstead where it passed each Hempstead firehouse before continuing to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Outside the iconic venue were dozens of fire apparatus and hundreds of members from various fire departments on hand to pay their respects as the procession passed.
Mike, who is an ex-Captain of the Hempstead Fire Department and an honorary member of Engines 1 and 4, was privately cremated. He will be missed by all those who knew and worked with him.
– Fire News photos by K2M Photography.com, OverTheEdgePhotography.com and Joseph C. Sperber
