Rockville Centre firefighters vote in annual chiefs election

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Members of the Rockville Centre Fire Department were set to head to the polls on Thursday to cast their “vote of confidence” for the three sitting chiefs, and to elect a new Fourth Battalion delegate.

Fire Chief Brian Cook, First Assistant Chief Eric Burel and Second Assistant Chief Jim Avondet — each running unopposed this year for a second term in those respective roles — were unanimously endorsed by their hose and engine

companies.

John Thorp, who was nominated for his first three-year term as the Fourth Battalion delegate by the officers and members of Woodland Engine Company No. 4, is also running unopposed. He will be succeeding Ex-Chief John Mirando, who has served as a delegate for the last nine years.

Though chiefs are to be voted on every year, Mirando said, it is customary for chiefs to serve in their roles for two years before moving up to the next rung. He noted that next year, for example, there may be a challenger for Second Assistant Chief, but until then, the chiefs are unopposed.

“What it really is is a vote of confidence,” Mirando said. “Members come out and let the chiefs know they’re doing a good job.”

Cook joined the Rockville Centre Fire Department in 1988, and rose through the ranks of Reliance Hose Company No. 3, where he served as captain from 1998 to 2001. He had served as the Rockville Centre Fire Department’s Second Assistant Chief from 2013 to 2015 and First Assistant Chief from 2015 to 2017, before replacing Robert Seaman as the chief of department last year.

He has firefighting in his blood, as his father, Thomas Cook, is a 63-year member of the department and an honorary chief for Reliance Hose Company No. 3.

Burel, a firefighter for 36 years, works as an administrator for the Plainview Fire Department. He came from the Freeport Fire Department and joined Woodland Engine Company No. 4, where he was elected as captain in 2010 before running for Second Assistant Chief and landing in his current role.

Avondet, who narrowly defeated John Griffin, 116-114, last year to become second assistant chief, is a 40-year member of the department. During his career with the department, he has served in many capacities, including as a firefighter, chauffeur, company officer, department board of instruction delegate, advanced emergency medical technician, assistant fire inspector and fire police officer. He has also served five terms as captain of Defender Hose Company No. 1.

A retired New York City Police Officer, Avondet currently serves the village as a deputy manager in the Office of Emergency Management.

Thorp joined Eureka Hook and Ladder Company in 1975, and served numerous times as its captain. He served as the Chief of Department from 2013 to 2015.