2018-2019 NYSAFC Officers Installed

Chief Julius J. Leone Jr. of the Fredonia Fire Department (Chautauqua County) was installed as president of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC) during the 112th Annual Conference & FIRE 2018 Expo Installation Ceremony held on June 16, 2018, at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY. He will serve a one-year term leading the statewide organization and is the seventh chief from Chautauqua County to be elected president of the association.

Leone has been a member of the Lambert Hook and Ladder Co. of the Fredonia Fire Department since 1980. He served as the director of emergency services and fire coordinator for Chautauqua County from 2002-2017. Prior to this position, Leone was director of environmental services and safety at Brooks Hospital in Dunkirk, NY. He led the Fredonia Fire Department as chief from 1991-1995. Leone also served as chairman of the Chautauqua County Fire Advisory Board from 1999-2001, president of the Chautauqua County Fire Chiefs Association from 1994-1995, and chairman of the Chautauqua County Emergency Medical Services Council from 1997-1999. He is also a certified instructor coordinator for the emergency medical technician course at the State University College at Fredonia, where he has taught since 1983. Leone joined NYSAFC in 1987. He served on the association’s EMS Committee from 1998-2007 and the Conference Committee from 2008-2011 before joining the board of directors in June 2011.

Also, during the ceremony Chief Robert P. Parese of the Little Falls Fire Department (Herkimer County) was sworn in as 1st vice president and Chief Lee Shurtleff of the Groton Fire Department (Tompkins County) was sworn in as 2nd vice president. Both will serve one-year terms.

Chief James R. Comstock of the Henrietta Fire District (Monroe County), Chief Dale G. Lingenfelter of the Niskayuna Fire District No. 1 (Schenectady County), and Chief Richard L. Lyman of the White Plains Fire Department (Westchester County) were sworn in as career directors and will serve three-year terms. Lingenfelter and Lyman are both newly elected to the board.

Lingenfelter has been a member of Niskayuna Fire District No. 1 for 32 years, serving as fire chief since 2006. He began his firefighting service in 1979 with the Evans Mills Volunteer Fire Department and later served with the Pleasant Square Fire Department until joining NFD No. 1 in 1986 as a volunteer member. Lingenfelter was appointed to the position of career firefighter/paramedic in 1990 and fire lieutenant/paramedic in 1995. Since 2003, he has served as a New York state fire instructor in Schenectady County. Lingenfelter is also an adjunct instructor for the fire protection program at Schenectady County Community College and instructs for the New York State Office of Emergency Management. He was a member of the development committee and executive committee for the New York State Urban/Technical Search and Rescue program from 1997-2007, serving as technical team manager. A member of NYSAFC since 2006, Lingenfelter served as chairman of the Paid Officers Committee from 2013 until joining the board of directors in 2018. He is an active member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Career Fire Chiefs of New York State, New York State Fire Marshals & Inspectors Association, International Code Council, and National Fire Protection Association.

Lyman is a 41-year veteran of the 150-member White Plains Fire Bureau who worked his way through the ranks to become chief in 2003. He is the eighth career chief in the history of the city of White Plains and oversees the fire bureau’s operations under the direction and control of the commissioner of public safety. Lyman began his fire service career in 1976. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1986 and was assigned to the training division and was promoted to deputy chief in charge of fire prevention, training, emergency planning, and plan review in 1997. Lyman was a New York state emergency medical technician from 1981-1992, an instructor at the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy from 1986-1989, co-director of the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy in 1989, and an adjunct professor at the Mercy College fire science program in 1990. A member of NYSAFC since 2003, Lyman served on the Paid Officers Committee before his election to the board of directors in 2018. He is also a member of the Career Fire Chiefs of New York State, Career Fire Chiefs of Westchester County, Westchester County Association of Fire Chiefs, National Fire Protection Association, and Westchester County Fire Advisory Board.

Congratulations to the 2018-2019 officers of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs.