The Village of Owego Fire Department held its annual election for Chief officers last night. Four new candidates ran for the department’s top positions. Dan Gavin will be the department’s Chief. Jim Morris was selected as 1st Assistant Chief. Charlie Olmstead was elected for 2nd Assistant Chief, and Stephanie Cole will be the department’s Deputy Chief. Those officers ran unopposed and on June 1st will replace Scott Gurney, Mark Warfle, Roy Schreiner, and Bob Williams, who not only chose not to run for re-election, but who have decided to resign from the department all together. There are unofficial reports that as many as 40 members resigned from the Owego Fire Department last night. This move comes a month after 20 firefighters threatened to walk-out at a public meeting, and in the wake of violations cited by PESH, the Public Employee’s Safety and Health Bureau. Those violations came after the death of Owego Firefighter Matt Pocari in 2013. The out-going chief officers had worked to mitigate many of the issues uncovered by PESH, but the department as a whole was unable to come to agreement on the terms. The 40 members allegedly leaving the Owego Fire Department have reportedly applied for membership in other area departments. In recent years, the total membership of the Owego Fire Department has been reported as high as 300, including social members.
Meanwhile, Owego has until Saturday to correct the last few PESH violations. Owego Village Mayor Kevin Millar says that the village board has adopted changes to satisfy the PESH investigation, but Millar told WEBO that one remaining issue is that the department’s chief officers must complete a higher level of training than the rest of its membership. Currently, Millar says, the officers elected last night do not meet those requirements yet, but have enrolled in the appropriate classes. PESH says the village will have to apply for a modification of abatement to allow the current officers more time to complete the necessary training. In the meantime, Millar says, the department will have to appoint someone who has completed that training to be in charge of their calls.
