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General News: New Fire Chief Talks About the Future
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| SKFE Co. #2 Fire Chief Chris O'Dell. |
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| The sign outside the firehouse reminds parents not to park in firefighters' spots. |
January 09, 2012
By Nancy Peckenham
When Chris O’Dell took over as the new fire chief of Storm King Engine Co. #2 in Cornwall-on-Hudson last month, he was fulfilling a goal he’d had since he was 14 years old. O’Dell, the son of former Cornwall police chief Rusty O’Dell, grew up in a house where police and emergency scanners were on day and night. When his father had to extricate a driver from a car that had gone into the woods off Orrs Mills Road, Chris listened in on the scanner and knew for sure that he wanted to learn how to respond to emergencies like that.
Former SKFE fire chief Jeff Armitage let the young O’Dell work as a volunteer at the annual Firemen’s Fair when he was 14 and, as soon as he turned 16, he signed up as a volunteer at both the fire company and the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Today,at age 34, O’Dell is a professional firefighter in the city of Newburgh and he is serious about how he wants to organize certain parts of Cornwall-on-Hudson’s volunteer fire department. Topping his list is training. He wants to make sure that members get the best training available, with qualified instructors, to prevent injuries. For example, he believes that every firefighter in the company should be well-trained in forcible entry to a structure, like cutting a hole in a roof.
O’Dell also wants to see the members be equipped with a pre-rigged bailout system, basically a 50-foot rope in a bag with a hook at the end that will allow for quick escape from the upper level of a structure fire. He says that the ropes are required by the state of New York but that at a cost of $27,000 for 20 firefighters, he understands if it is more than the village can afford right now.
O’Dell plans to attend monthly village board meetings so he can answer questions that come up. In an interview in his office at the firehouse, he said his door is always open to the public if they want to talk.
There are a couple of issues he’d like folks to address as soon as possible. First of all he’s asking parents of students at Cornwall-on-Hudson Elementary School not to park in the parking slots labeled Firemen Only, and he’s re-inforced that message in an electronic billboard outside.
Parking issues also create safety problems, he said, and he is hoping that the village police will start enforcing the no parking law in the fire lane outside the elementary school and he will ask the village board to consider banning parking on one side Cherry Avenue for easier access.
O’Dell is taking over from Jeff Armitage the same year that the Orange County Volunteer Firefighters Association will hold its annual convention and parade in the village. SKFE member and current OCVFA president Matt Clancy has been planning and fundraising for the September event for the past couple of years along with Armitage and O’Dell is confident that it will come off successfully.
Other SKFE officers elected in December are Robby Vought, Assistant Chief, Tom Lyons, Captain, Steve Calamari, 1st Lieutenant and George Lindenburger, 2nd Lieutenant.
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