Brockport Fire Department elects new chief

Laurence Vaughan

Brockport Fire Department
elects new chief

The learning curve for newly elected Brockport Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan shouldn't be a long one as he held the position in the past. While some things might have changed since he last served in 1991, the transition from former Chief Christian McCullough to Vaughan will be an easy one.

When asked why he volunteered for the position again, Vaughan said it was a long story and laughingly said that he didn't quite volunteer. "In February 2004, I was asked if I'd consider filling an opening at deputy chief," he said. "Various scenarios were played out and the department felt that if I filled in until another individual was ready to assume the chief post when Chris resigned, the department would be in good shape."

It was anticipated that McCullough would fill the role of chief for three years but when his plans changed that also changed the succession scenario at the department, he said.

"My wife basically okayed my serving another year as deputy chief knowing full well there'd be another stint for me as chief again," he said. "Never did I ever think or wish for another shot, but I was honored and humbled to have been asked."

Vaughan said his 26 years as a career firefighter helps in his role as chief as well as his past experience as chief officer with the department.

"I hope that my longevity and knowledge of the fire district, buildings, complexes, water systems, etc. will help," he said, adding he's stayed current on trends and training in fire fighting.

Under his reign, Vaughan plans to concentrate on retention and recruitment of members. "We need to keep a steady stream of new members - our biggest resource for new members is in our Fire Explorer Post," he said. "We need to have 20 to 25 new people annually in order to get and keep a good, active membership roster."

Of utmost importance to Vaughan is keeping the membership trained and well-prepared for the multitude of possible incidents the department could be faced with. He is also working with the membership on the consolidation of the five individual fire companies into one department. "We are close," he said. "We have a draft constitution and by-laws and we will hopefully be able to have an administrative group in place to address the administrative needs of the department, leaving the fire chiefs to administer the line functions including training, fire fighting, apparatus readiness, etc."

Giving the residents of the fire district the best possible fire and ambulance service possible, while trying to keep the budget lean, without sacrificing service is another challenge facing Vaughan's administration.

As fire chief, Vaughan is thankful for the dedicated group of men, women and young adults (Explorer members) who dedicate their time and efforts to service the community.

"I also work with very supportive municipal boards," he said. "Without their help, support and guidance, we would struggle to do the things we do here."

Vaughan said he feels the residents within the fire districts' boundaries practice prevention and fire safety. "Though our calls for service have steadily increased, our calls for actual fires and large fires have dropped off considerably," he said. "We attribute that to our fire safety education program and strong code enforcement efforts in the three municipalities we serve."

The department boasts a roster of 120 volunteer members.

BFD consolidation plans

When asked about consolidation plans for the Brockport Fire Department, newly elected Fire Chief Laurence Vaughan said there is no "actual" Brockport Fire Department.

"We are five separate little departments running under the umbrella name of the Brockport Fire Department," he said.

The five departments include: Harrison Hose, Protectives, Capen Hose, Silsby Hose and Dewey Hook and Ladder.

"Since each company has a president, secretary, treasurer, captain, lieutenants, etc., there is no department level administrative section," he said. "Currently, the chief of the department is the "president" and the chief's office and appointed special officers handle just about all the needs of the department, both line, day to day operations and the administrative functions. It's a huge workload."

With consolidation, there will be an administrative section and a line section - and Vaughan said that half the work load being handled by the chief's office would go away and be delegated to administrative officers.