Gates to pick a pair of fire commissioners

There are two open seats on the board and three men running.

One, Lou Comenale, is running unopposed for the one-year term. Anthony Fusilli and Bill Vogel are competing for the five-year term on the all-volunteer board.

Vogel could not be reached for comment on this story.

The five-member Board of Fire Commissioners is the governing body of the Gates Fire District. The fire district is responsible for the management and operation of the district, its employees and its properties – firehouses, vehicles and equipment.

The Gates-Chili Volunteer Fire Department is a separate entity. The department provides firefighting services using mostly district-owned equipment.

The commissioner election is Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Station 1, 2355 Chili Ave.

LOU COMENALE

Comenale, 59, lives on Arrowhead Drive in Gates and is a senior advertising sales representative for Messenger Post Newspapers.

Comenale was appointed to the Gates Board of Fire Commissioners in the fall. He is a life member of the Gates-Chili Volunteer Fire Department and an active volunteer firefighter.

Comenale said he wants to continue his service to the community and the fire district and to help plan the district's future.

Volunteer retention is an issue for fire departments everywhere and Gates is no exception. Time and economic pressures are making recruits harder to find, Comenale said. The key to attracting more recruits, he said, is marketing.

"Spread the word," he said. "We need to try the best we can to augment the career staff."

Mindful of the town of Gates' financial challenges, Comenale said, the fire district must keep the tax rate manageable.

"We have to be very watchful how we spend money," he said. "We have to make sure we spend money wisely and are doing the right thing for the community."

Comenale is the only candidate for the one-year term on the Board of Fire Commissioners. His new term will be

ANTHONY FUSILLI

Fusilli, 31, lives on Winter Hazel Court in Gates and works as a driver for United Parcel Service.

Fusilli is an assistant chief at Station 2 in the Gates-Chili Volunteer Fire Department. He has been a Gates firefighter since 1993. Prior to that, he was with the department's Explorer program.

Fusilli said he wants to be a fire commissioner because he knows the importance of having high-quality people in that position.

"I want to see our firefighters, along with keeping taxes low in town, (get) the best training and equipment and (provide the best) fire protection to the community," he said.

There are a lot of costs that are out of the fire district's control, like fuel and energy, Fusilli said, and that's why it's important to plan budgets carefully and to control spending.

"Make sure firefighters are outfitted with the proper things to do their jobs effectively," he said. "So they don't go into battle half-armed."

Fusilli has been waging an active campaign: going door-to-door talking about the fire service and using billboards and fliers. His goal, he said, is to solicit public interest in an election with a historically meager turnout.

"It's generally been a fire district election with a little bit of the outside community," Fusilli said, explaining that he's trying to get people to understand what a fire commissioner does "and that this position's important," he said.

BILL VOGEL

Vogel has been active firefighter since 1977 and has held the offices of lieutenant, captain and assistant chief in the Gates-Chili Volunteer Fire Department. He puts his age at "a young 63."

Vogel lives on Pyramid Lane in Gates and retired from Rochester Gas & Electric in 1994, where he was supervisor of customer service offices. Today, Vogel works for the Department of Environmental Services in the city of Rochester.

Volunteer recruitment and retention is the major challenge facing the fire service, he said.

"Volunteers seem to be dwindling," he said. "As volunteers go away, it means we have to have more career personnel and that money has to come from someplace, so taxes have to increase and we don't want to see that in the town of Gates. We pay enough taxes."

One way to attract and keep volunteers may be to offer additional incentives, Vogel said. The district does have a retirement incentive program, where firefighters get $20 a month for every year of service after they've served five years. The program starts paying off when the participant hits age 65.

The district should look for ways to supplement its budget, Vogel said, such as applying for more state and federal grants.

Vogel also spoke of the need to keep equipment updated and modernized.

Whoever wins the Fusilli/Vogel matchup will serve a five-year term, from Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2011.