The city of Rockland has one of the most professional and best-performing fire and emergency management services departments in the region. Our firefighters are dedicated and hardworking, and I couldn’t be more proud of their service to our community.
It is my job to make sure those firefighters are given every tool available to succeed. That is why I believe it is imperative that our residents and city leaders support hiring a fire chief to help us maintain that great department and take the reins of city efforts to protect our lives and property.
Not everyone is aware that we currently do not have an official fire chief. In fact, Rockland has been operating without a full-time fire chief for two years. Assistant Fire Chief Adam Miceli has been generously working as acting chief for that period.
It is a testament to his skills and to the dedication of Rockland’s firefighters and emergency responders that the department has maintained its performance without the leadership of a professional fire chief at the top. But that’s not right. It’s not fair to the firefighters and our talented EMS technicians because that work is added stress on men and women who already are shouldering a heavy burden.
The fire chief is an important role that is vital to the department’s performance. The chief is the person ultimately responsible for making sure fire and EMS services are prompt, efficient and effective but also for developing ideas for protecting life and property in the city. The chief recruits firefighters, purchases life-saving equipment, makes budgets and is the department’s liaison to the city manager.
That is a big job, and providing great leadership to further help the department deliver the best firefighting and emergency management services to our residents should be at the core of our city government’s mission.
In the coming months, Rockland will be considering a new budget. Let’s make a new fire chief a priority in that budget. The department has done a great job of maintaining great performance for two years without a chief — response times still are just three minutes. Let’s make sure we do everything we can to help that department deliver the best firefighting and emergency management services.
James D. Chaousis II is Rockland’s city manager.