Sugar Loaf studio creates stained-glass tribute to FDNY firefighters
By Valerie Holmes
SUGAR LOAF — Sundog Stained Glass Studio in Sugar Loaf was commissioned to create a stained-glass panel for the FDNY Engine 38/Ladder 59 Firehouse in the Bronx, also known as the Dog House Fire Station.
The panel is a tribute to the 343 firefighters who perished on Sept. 11, 2001. It will be displayed in a light box at the fire station in remembrance of the firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty on the day of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.
Of the firefighters who lost their lives that day, 27 were from Orange County and five were from Warwick.
It is a tradition for some fire houses to have stained-glass windows on their buildings. Joann Mannino has designed stained-glass windows for several fire stations in the Bronx, so when the Dog House decided to have one designed as a 9/11 tribute, the firefighters took up a collection to pay for it and contacted her.
“They commissioned me because I had previously done work for several different firehouses in the Bronx, and I guess word gets around,” Mannino said. “Anyway, many of the firemen live in this area, so they found me.”
Mannino also completed a window for the Gun Hill Gang, Engine 62/Ladder 32 around the same time as she completed the Dog House panel. The two fire houses are a few blocks away from each other.
The Dog House Station provided Mannino with a photo of a T-shirt with the logo on it to design the stained-glass panel from.
“I fabricated the panel using lead and copper foil,” she said. “The letters are etched, as well as the stars and stripes, and the figure was created by using vitreous (kiln fired) glass paint to create the image. Vitreous glass paints are powdery when you buy them, then get mixed with different mediums, painted, and then fired at temperatures from 850-1,250 degrees in my kiln. It was great fun to make. It took me about three months to create. I never weighed it, but it is really heavy.”
Sundog Stained Glass studio is a full-service studio in the heart of Sugar Loaf established in 1972 by Mannino and her husband Charlie. They do custom designs and restorations, commercial and residential, and religious applications. All work is performed on premises. They also offer classes to the public. They can be found at sundogstainedglass.com.