Fire commissioner elections upcoming

Posted

Wantagh and Seaford residents will head to the polls on Dec. 13 to vote in fire commissioner elections.

Residents of the Seaford Fire District are encouraged to vote at department headquarters, on Southard Avenue, between 6 and 9 p.m. Polls will be open at all firehouses in the Wantagh district — which includes Seaford Harbor and portions of Levittown, among other communities — between 2 and 9 p.m. 

Longtime Seaford firefighter and commissioner Frank Allaire is running unopposed in Seaford. In Wantagh, George Krant is challenging John Gillen for a five-year term on the board. 

Krant, a 45-year-old Levittown resident, has been a firefighter, lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and chief in the Wantagh Department since he began volunteering 27 years ago. He is also a 22-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, serving the Emergency Service Unit. 

If elected, Krant believes that his fairness and general demeanor would serve him will on the board. He believes that fire commissioners should “respect and support the dedicated members” of the Wantagh Fire Department. 

“The position of fire district commissioner comes with a great amount of statutory authority, one that requires integrity, honesty, fairness and fiscal constraint,” he said. “While demonstrating fiscal constraint, I realize it is vital to ensure that our dedicated volunteers are provided with the finest training and equipment to continue to protect you from the perils of fire.” 

Krant faces Gillen, a 57-year-old Wantagh resident, in the election. In addition to volunteering for the fire department for 30 years and acting as a commissioner for a decade, Gillen is a retired NYPD detective squad commander. 

Gillen has been a firefighter, lieutenant and chief in Wantagh. He is also seven-year member of the Nassau County Fire Commission, serving as the chairman of the 6th Battalion delegates; a past chairman of the 6th Battalion chiefs’ group; a current member of the Nassau County Firematic Awards Committee; and a hazardous materials and emergency medical technician. 

As a Wantagh fire commissioner, Gillen said that he has overseen the research and purchasing of apparatus and equipment.  He noted that his proudest accomplishment was immediately initiating a program through which the fire district began “the arduous and time-consuming process of writing our own specifications for apparatus and equipment” instead of letting the manufacturers do so, which he said invited competition and saved the district more than $700,000. 

Citing unfunded state mandates, Gillen said the current board has renovated structures and bought necessary emergency equipment in spite of financial constraints by being conscientious about the district budget. They’ve done so, he said, by working cooperatively and welcoming others’ opinions. 

“I fully understand what it means to act as a team and have done so in my NYPD career, 30 years as a firefighter and certainly in the last 10 years as commissioner,” Gillen said. “I always accept full responsibility for my actions and recommendations and convey answers to any questions that arise to keep taxpayers and members in the loop.”