| In 2017 - our 125th year of existence - we saw our department continue to excel and answer hundreds of calls for assistance. We also welcomed several new members, and sadly said farewell to some of our most senior ones. We took delivery of a new Rescue 18, replacing it's nearly 25 year old predecessor which served us well for nearly three decades.
Under the leadership of Chief Matt Mansfield, the department continued to be one of the best trained and well-equipped firefighting outfits in our area, and our future continues to look incredibly promising. Our membership truly stepped up and participated in hundreds of hours of training, work details and answering the 350+ emergencies we were called to.
The emergencies we responded to included structural fires, car fires, brush fires, boat fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous materials incidents, water rescues and a few other unusual occurrences mixed in with the routine fire alarms and investigations we handled. Answering these calls for assistance was an average response of over SIXTEEN CFD VOLUNTEERS. In a time where volunteer fire companies are struggling to find and retain members, we are fortunate enough to have this many men and women with such an incredible level of commitment. In fact, we saw 114 different members from our five companies and Explorer Post 2089 working together and "answering the call."
For 2017, our "Top Responders" were as follows;
#1 - Deputy Chief John Munson with 204 Calls.
#2 - Past Captain Frank Pusatere with 192 Calls.
#3 - Past Captain Harold Lockwood with 171 Calls.
#4 - 1st Asst. Chief Chris Colombo with 169 Calls.
#5 - Deputy Chief Phil Dinkler with 156 Calls.
#6 - 2nd Asst. Chief Chris Pesavento and Engineer Bill Gallagher with 153 Calls each.
#8 - PAF/Firefighter Jake Dominello with 143 Calls.
#9 - Engineer Rocco Cusano with 133 Calls.
#10 - Deputy Chief Tex Dinkler with 130 Calls.
#11 - Firefighter Chris Colombo Jr. with 126 Calls.
#12 - Captain Jim Ferguson with 123 Calls.
#13 - Past Captain Dan Vlad with 116 Calls.
#14 - Lieutenant Carlton Sargeant with 109 Calls.
#15 - Explorer Gordon Ingalls Jr. with 108 Calls.
A total of 17 CFD volunteers came out over 100 times in 2017 when their pagers alerted them to an emergency, and another 6 were only a few calls shy of that coveted "century mark."
In June, the Department celebrated our 125th anniversary with a 20+ unit Firefighter's Dress Parade down the streets of Croton. It was an honor for us to march in front of our neighbors that have supported us throughout all of these years.
Sadly, 2017 also saw us saying farewell to a few of our own. In May, we lost long-time former Chief Dispatcher JoAnne Ferguson. In July, not too long after he was able to attend our anniversary parade, we laid to rest 73 Year Member Donald "Tex" Fagan. And in November, we also saw another 73 Year Member - Sal Vasta - pass on. We shall never forget these three great people for all that they did for this department and the Croton community they were involved in.
As we embark on this journey known as "2018," we have a new Chief of Department, succeeding Chief Mansfield whom completed his two-year term. Chris Colombo took over the reigns of this Department on January 1st, moving up from his post as 1st Assistant Chief. Joining him in our Chief Officer's Slate are 1st Assistant Chief Chris Pesavento and 2nd Assistant Chief John Munson.
We thank all of our members for making 2017 one of the finest years in this department's storied history. We also encourage anyone that has an interest in becoming one of Croton's Bravest to either email us at info@crotonfd.org, call us at (914) 271-2693 or visit any of our three Firehouses on Monday evenings. You'd be surprised to see just how many of your neighbors are behind our doors!
Here's to the next 125 years, CFD! |
