COMMUNITY NEWS

Holzhauer, Collins elected fire commissioners

Posted

Residents in the Bellmore and North Bellmore fire districts recently elected the newest members of their boards of fire commissioners.

In spite of stormy weather, voters headed to the polls on Dec. 9 to cast their ballots for one candidate for one open seat on their respective boards. Richard Holzhauer ran unopposed in Bellmore, while former chiefs Robert Bazarewski and Mark Collins faced off for a seat on the North Bellmore board.

Holzhauer was elected to the Bellmore board, receiving 115 votes. The firefighter and emergency medical technician, who has lived in Bellmore for 15 years, is an Air Force veteran and member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores.


In North Bellmore, Collins defeated Bazarewski, 198 to 174. The North Bellmore Fire District takes in parts of East Meadow and North Merrick.

Collins served in one of the four chief’s positions in North Bellmore from 2010 to 2014. A lifelong community resident and Mepham High School alumnus, he became a member of both the North Bellmore Fire Department and the Suffolk County Police Department in 2003.

Fire commissioners oversee their departments’ finances and equipment purchasing.