Family, Friends Share Memories of Farmingville Man Who Died In Crash

Flowers and a photo of Lourine, a New York City firefighter, mark the spot where the accident took place. A fabric wrapped around the faded blossoms reads "Cousin."

According to Southold Town police, Lourine was driving a 2006 Kawasaki motorcycle westbound when he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway. He struck a curb, was ejected, and struck his head on a utility pole, police said.

Lourine was transported by Mattituck Fire Department rescue to Peconic Bay Medical Center with "very serious" injuries, police said at the scene.

His family said Lourine had been honored with medals, plaques and accolades for his accomplishments and service to the community.

"Mike graduated from the FDNY academy on Sept. 8, 2001, which ironically is the same day he was killed in the accident, but 12 years later," his sister, Deborah Shane, said. 

She added that their father's retirement from the FDNY coincided with her brother's graduation.

"My father actually passed his badge number to Mike, which was very special," she said.

The pain of losing her brother has left their family shrouded in grief, Shane said.

"Mike was not only my younger brother, he was my best friend. Mike has always meant everything to me as a sibling and I’m extremely thankful and proud to be his sister. His tragic passing has forever changed my life and I miss him so much more than words could possibly convey," she wrote to Patch.

Growing up, Shane said she and her brother were very close, with no typical sibling rivalry.

"My friends were his friends and his were mine. Mike loved to live each day to the fullest and was a free spirit who never looked back with any regrets. Mike’s easy-going attitude, big heart, and resounding sense of humor gained him much popularity throughout his life – people loved him and he loved people; his positivity was infectious and his personality was magnetic."

One longtime friend from high school, Mary, told Shane at the wake, “Mike[y] is one of the few people I kept in touch with from school. Over the years we would bicker, sometimes we dated, but no matter what, we were always pals. I knew if I ever needed anything, he would be there. And to this very day, he is the only guy my dog actually liked."

She added, "I will carry fond memories of Mike[y] and his laugh in my heart for the rest of my life. He was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside”.

Her brother, Shane said, was intelligent, making the honor roll numerous times, and had a passion for sports, including baseball, football, and wrestling.

Lourine studied liberal arts at SUNY Stony Brook before leaving to enter the FDNY.

"One of Mike’s closest friends, Joe wrote, 'It feels like yesterday I met Mike on Birch Street, banging on my door to trade me baseball cards. . . One of my fondest memories of Mike was when he started training for the FDNY physical and he dragged me and our friend Andrew along for the ride. He got in such great shape and pushed his and our limits. The day I knew that Mike was going to make the FDNY was the day I looked at him after he got off the treadmill for a three-mile run and went right to the Stairmaster with 50 pound dumbbells in each hand, and did that for another 20 minutes. His dedication was so contagious words cannot begin to explain it."

He added, "I asked him why he worked so hard for the test and he said, 'Joe, all I want to do is be a firefighter.' And that is what he did. Mike was my biggest inspiration growing up and I always looked up to him. I just hope he realized how much I did. He was such a tough guy on the outside but inside was nothing but love.  He was my best friend and I’m glad I had the chance to know him”. 

Shane said her brother's passion to become a firefighter was fueled by their father's dedication; Charles Lourine was a FDNY member for over 30 years, stationed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Hooper Street for Engine 211 and Ladder 119. 

"Mike and I grew up as part of the extended FDNY family and the experiences we shared with them left a huge imprint on his heart and in his mind," she said. "Mike looked up to and admired our father for his accomplishments as a fireman and was never shy about confessing his desire to emulate that level of heroism someday."

Her brother's first day "on the job," as an official member of the FDNY was Sept. 11, 2001 --  a day that he, and the world, would never forget. 

"He was called to serve after both Towers fell and was stationed at Ground Zero for over 30 days," she said. "Mike actively participated in the rescue effort in New York City and helped recover artifacts of his fallen brothers at Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island for many months afterward. The tragedy of 9/11 only fueled the fire of Mike’s passion to want to help save people’s lives even more."

In 2007, Lourine and and five other FDNY firefighters from Ladder Co. 105 were presented with the Firefighter Thomas R. Elsasser Memorial Medal by the New York City Fire Commissioner and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for their "outstanding teamwork" in responding to a Dec. 17, 2006 blaze in Brooklyn," Shane said.

"Working in the middle of the night, the firefighters rescued residents of a burning Brooklyn home for mentally disabled adults, many of whom had been seriously injured in the fire," she said.

She added, "My brother was quoted in an article published by the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York as saying,'“It's an honor for the company. That's the best part: It's not an individual honor, when you're a team, you're a team.'" 

Mayor Bloomberg, she said, is quoted in the same article as calling the medal winners "the cream of the crop, the top of the heap and the bravest of the bravest." She added, "That was definitely my brother." 

Two of her brother's other passions were rebuilding performance cars and riding his motorcycle, Shane said.

"Mike purchased first motorcycle in his late 20s and never stopped riding since," she said, "His favorite 'run' was on Route 25 out to Greenport and back on the weekends – he said he loved the experience of the ride."