2019-2020 NYSAFC Officers Installed

 

Chief Robert P. Parese of the Little Falls Fire Department (Herkimer County) was installed as president of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC) during the 113th Annual Conference & FIRE 2019 Expo Installation Ceremony, which was held on June 15, 2019, at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown in Syracuse, NY. He will serve a one-year term leading the statewide organization.

Parese began his fire service career in 1985 with the East Herkimer Volunteer Fire Department. In 1993, he was hired as a firefighter by the City of Little Falls Fire Department. Parese was promoted to assistant chief in 2000 and then appointed chief in 2001. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO). A member of NYSAFC since 2001, Parese served as a member and chairman of the Paid Chiefs Committee before his election to the board of directors. Parese was honored with the Herkimer County Firefighter of the Year Award in 1989. He is a member of the Career Fire Chiefs of New York State, National Fire Protection Association, Herkimer County Fire Chiefs Association, National Association of Fire Investigators, Herkimer County Fire Advisory Board, National Society of Executive Fire Officers, International Code Council, and International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Also during the ceremony, Chief Lee Shurtleff (Groton Fire Department) was sworn in as 1st vice president and Chief Robert R. Kloepfer Jr. (Floral Park Fire Department) was sworn in as 2nd vice president. Both will serve one-year terms.

Chief Timothy E. Boel (East Greenbush Fire District #3), Chief James E. Hare (Hilton Fire Department), and Chief Anthony V. LaFerrera (North Babylon Fire Department) were sworn in as volunteer directors and will serve three-year terms. Chief Mark Strzyzynski (Henrietta Fire District) was sworn in as a career director and will serve a three-year term. Boel and Strzyzynski are both newly elected to the board.
 
Boel has been a member of the East Greenbush Fire Company since 1978 and has been a fire officer since 1981. He has served as vice president, president, member of the board of directors, commissioner, assistant chief, and chief of department. Boel has also served as a deputy battalion coordinator for Rensselaer County since 2003. He is a member and past president of the Rensselaer County Fire Chiefs Association, a member and past president of the New York State Association of Fire Safety Educators, and a member of numerous other emergency services organizations in New York state. Boel has also served as a New York state fire instructor since 1995. He joined NYSAFC in 1983 and is a life member. Prior to being elected to the board of directors in 2019, he served on the Public Education Committee since 1985 and was chairman from 1992-2002 and vice chairman from 2002-2019.

Strzyzynski began his emergency services career in 1983 an EMT. In 1989, he was hired by the Rochester Fire Department, where he worked in one of the department’s busiest truck and engine companies as a firefighter, lieutenant, and captain. Strzyzynski spent time as the acting deputy chief of training, overseeing all fire academy administrations, and retired from the RFD after 25 years as a battalion chief. He was awarded numerous commendations, including Firehouse Magazine’s Heroism Award for the rescue of a child in 1989. Strzyzynski previously spent 10 years volunteering at the Henrietta Fire District and upon retirement from RFD, was hired by the Henrietta Fire District as the first career assistant fire chief. In January 2017, he was promoted to fire chief. Strzyzynski is a credentialed chief fire officer (CFO) and holds multiple FEMA ICS Type 3 certifications, including incident commander, operation section chief, and planning section chief. He is a founding member of the Western New York State Incident Management Team (Type III). Strzyzynski received an A.A.S degree in fire protection from Monroe Community College.

Congratulations to the 2019-2020 officers of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs.