Our Story

Newburgh Rescue Supply was started in 1973 by Mickey Favoino, with the determination to provide the emergency services community with not only the equipment they needed and the personal service they deserved, but also with the expertise, knowledge, and educational opportunities that would make them more successful and safer during any rescue.

From our humble beginnings in his parents garage, to our current two story stand alone building, we have remained true to the ethos and ideals on which the business was founded. Today you are just as likely to get Mickey when you call us as you are to get someone else in the office. We have never forgotten that our customers are what make us great and we continue to serve them with as much personal attention today as we did at our founding, almost 50 years ago.

Our Founder

Our founder, Mickey Favoino, first gained an interest in survival skills from Boy Scouts at a young age. Throughout his years in scouting he expanded his knowledge and interest as he learned rudimentary rope skills and eventually attained Eagle Status. His interest in emergency services and technical rescue persisted and as a young man he joined the NY Army National Guard where he recieved additional education in Rope Rescue and would serve with the 10TH Mountain Division as a Combat Medic. Around the same time he joined both Winona Lake Fire Department #2 as an active firefighter and The Town of Newburgh Volunteer Ambulance Corps as a NYS EMT. He remained an active member of the Ambulance Corps for many years and still continues to serve in Winona Lake Fire Dept as he has for more than 50 years. Although he now qualifies for life membership in Winona Lake, he prefers to remain an active member responding to calls daily.

After 24 years in the Guard, Mickey finally retired from it only to be quickly asked by the NYS Guard to teach Search and Rescue to their volunteer troops. It was through this organization that he was activated for multiple months after the events of 9/11. During that time he served first in the Bucket Brigade operations at NY Ground Zero, and then was moved to the active guarding of sensitive locations in New York’s Hudson Valley. The only time he was allowed to leave base during his activation was when multiple state agency teams were coming to get equipment from Newburgh Rescue Supply and his advice as they headed to ground zero.

His experiences during that period of service led him and two other members of the NYS Guard to found the New York Search And Rescue team. This same team would go on to be called in for numerous missing persons searches and would later be asked by the Louisiana Governor’s office to respond to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The New York Search and Rescue team would transport not only personnel, but also equipment as they headed out only hrs after receiving the plea from the governor’s office. The team would remain in Louisiana for a number of weeks helping to clear structures, search for survivors, and deal with the logistics of the mass casualties that resulted. Those who serve will always go where they are needed.

Throughout all of the years of service to his community, Mickey has consistently taught Technical Rescue classes to varied audiences in his capacity as a private instructor and also as a New York State Fire (Rescue) Instructor. His classes have encompassed everything from High and Low Angle Rope Rescue, Water and Swift Water Rescue, Ice Rescue, Bail Out Technique and Basic Rope Skills with students hailing from the Energy Industry, Fire Departments, specialty response teams, and even local Boy Scout Troops.

Never one to stay still for long, Mickey’s most recent certification is as a licensed General Amateur Radio operator and is active member in the Orange County Amateur Radio Club, which is associated with ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League). Since he remains an ever enthusiastic proponent of learning and education, he now serves as a Volunteer Examiner for the FCC testing of new HAM operators in addition to all his other continuing pursuits.