RVC fire chiefs take office

James Avondet will be stepping down as chief of the Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department, following his second one-year term.

Avondet, a member of the department for the past 46 years, played an instrumental role when firefighters quelled the enormous tanker fire that erupted at the vacant La-Z-Boy store at Sunrise Highway and North Centre Avenue in February 2022.

Mayor Francis Murray said at a village board meeting on April 3 that as Avondet’s term comes to an end, Murray wanted to thank him for his years of dedicated service to the village.

“He exemplifies all that is good about our Rockville Centre Fire Department,” Murray said. “Your invaluable services as chief is greatly appreciated by all who live here and come through our village.”

More than 200 members of the department cast their ballots for new officers on April 6, electing a new chief, first and second assistant chiefs and delegates to the Fourth Battalion Fire District.

Scott Mohr was elected chief of the department, receiving 199 votes in an uncontested race. He was unanimously endorsed to fill Avondet’s role by members of Reliance Hose Company No. 3, for which he has volunteered since 1993.

A third-generation village firefighter, Mohr has followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Louis Mohr Sr. and his father, James Mohr — who were both captains of Reliance — as well as several uncles and cousins who remain active in the department.

Mohr served as second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain of Reliance between 1998 and 2008, was previously second assistant chief of the department, and has been first assistant chief since 2021. He will be the 86th chief of the department.

“As Chief of Department, I plan on continuing most of the traditions that brought me to joining this great department 30 years ago,” Mohr wrote in an email. “I believe in teamwork and camaraderie. Being that the Rockville Centre Fire Department is 100 percent all-volunteer, I feel that it is imperative that everyone gets to know each other and gets comfortable with each other.”

Over the years, Mohr has received several awards for acts of bravery, and has served on social and training committees at both the company and departmental levels.

For the past two decades, he has also been a career firefighter with FDNY Tower Ladder 127 in Jamaica, Queens. Prior to joining the New York City department, he served as a city police officer in Harlem for three years.

Scott and his wife, Kelly, have two children, Riley and Haiden.

“We have doctors, lawyers, teachers, and many other professions, but when that radio goes off for us to respond we are all volunteer firefighters with the same goals, save life and property and go home safely to our families,” Mohr wrote. “I take great pride in leading this department into the future and feel I have a great team in Tony (Rugolo) and Pat (Healey) to do so.”

After two years as second assistant chief, Tony Rugolo was elected first assistant chief, with 198 votes. He received the unanimous support of Woodlands Engine Company No. 4, which he has been an integral member of since he joined the department in 1984.

Rugolo, like Mohr, comes from a family of firematic excellence. His father was an active member of Live Oak Engine Company No. 1 until his death, and his brother, Joe, is a three-term captain of Woodlands Engine Company and a senior warden on the Fire Department Council. Tony’s son, Anthony, is also a lieutenant for Woodlands, and is a career firefighter with the FDNY.

Rugolo is a retired paid firefighter from Garden City who, over the years, has served the department in many capacities, including financial secretary, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain from 1994 to 1996.

In 2016, when the company needed someone to step up and fill the vacancy as captain, Rugolo without hesitation, jumped in and served another term.

He and his wife of 35 years, Eileen, have two sons and two daughters. Joe is in medical school, and Christina and Megan are both college students.

While Mohr and Rugolo ran uncontested, Pat Healey, from Eureka Hook, Ladder and Bucket Company No. 1, and Jose Urquiza, from Live Oak, both ran for second assistant chief of the department, and Healey won by a vote count of 132-71. A lifelong Rockville Centre resident and a 13-year member of Eureka company, Healey served as second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain between 2015 and 2022. During the pandemic, he worked closely with the chief’s office to assure members responding to alarms that the firehouse was a safe environment, and worked on committees that helped create policies to keep the entire department safe.

Over the years, Healey has been involved in several committees, including the new truck committee, has been chief chauffeur, and was instrumental in working with the chief’s office on the replacement of Tower Ladder unit No. 447.

Healey is a member of the department’s board of instruction, and is a director of the Companies Corporation. He works as a lineman for the Village of Freeport’s Electric Department.

In the election, department members also voted for two delegates to the Fourth Battalion Fire District, which represents fire departments in East Rockaway, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Malverne, Oceanside and Rockville Centre.

Ex-chief Mark Murray, a 41-year member of the department and an ex-captain of Reliance Hose Company No. 3, won his bid for re-election to a fifth term as a delegate. He is chairman of the district and a commissioner of the Nassau County Fire Commission.

Due to the untimely death of Ex-Chief Robert “Bubba” Seaman, there was another race for a Fourth Battalion delegate seat, which was won by Ex-Chief Peter Grandazza.