Mike Harrigan, chairman of the Wading River Fire District commissioners, speaks at Tuesday’s town board meeting. (Credit: Tim Gannon)
A proposal to eliminate the section of the Riverhead Town Code that divvies up false alarm fines 70-30 between the local fire districts and the town was opposed by one fire district and supported by another at a public hearing on Tuesday. (more…)
Thomas Campanaro, president of the Riverhead Town Fire Chiefs Council and the Manorville fire commissioner, claims the town’s fire marshals can’t keep up.
There are too many inspections to complete and too many calls to respond to, he said.
Mr. Campanaro said he’s concerned for the safety of his fellow volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel, as well as the public as a whole. And he said the Fire Council — which has called for Riverhead Town to hire more full-time fire marshals several times — is ready to make some noise about the issue.
“We don’t want to be an angel up there looking down saying we didn’t do enough to shake the tree,” he said. “We’re not going to let it go.” (more…)