Five vie for Bellmore fire commissioner

Five longtime members of the Bellmore Fire Department are running for a single post on the Bellmore Fire District Board of Commissioners this year. They are Gary Horn, Dennis Roskop, John Scalesi, Robert Taylor and Paul Zuckerberg.

Commissioners oversee the fire district’s annual budget and review its policies and practices to ensure that they meet current firefighting standards. The election will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 2 to 9 p.m. at Bellmore Fire District headquarters, on Pettit Avenue, across from the Long Island Rail Road station. All fire district residents are eligible to vote in the election.

Below are biographies provided by three of the candidates. Horn and Roskop could not be reached.

John Scalesi
John Scalesi has been an active fire volunteer in Bellmore for three decades and has been a community resident for 50 years. For his service, he has earned four Nassau County and three Town of Hempstead Firematic Awards. He is both a New York State fire instructor and a Red Cross instructor, and he is a four-time Bellmore emergency medical services captain.

In addition, he is active in the community. He is currently president of the Bellmore Kiwanis Club and is a past president of the Lions Club. He is also now Mepham High School’s Key Club adviser, and he is a past commissioner of the Bellmore Little League. He is active in the Sons of Italy as well. Finally, he is a New York Athletic Commission inspector.