New fire chief steps up for Elmont

Earlier this month, the Elmont Fire Department elected a new chief, James Prince, an assistant chief and a 19-year-veteran of the department.

Prince, 36, said he has been hanging around fire houses and helping his neighbors since he was 13. “The fire department becomes a part of your life,” he said. “When you’re in it for so long, eventually you feel ready to move up the ladder to serve your community in a larger capacity.”

Members of the Elmont department, which has been around since 1928, are volunteers who do their life- and livelihood-saving work in addition to their day jobs. Prince has been fighting fires longer than the nine years he has spent working as a New York City Housing Authority elevator mechanic’s helper.

He said that while serving the department may not be what he does for a living, it certainly feels like a huge part of his life. “Once you’re into [firefighting], it’s very hard to depart from,” Prince said. “Obviously the main purpose is to serve your neighbors and help out the surrounding towns, and after you’ve done that, it’s very hard to leave.”

He was introduced to firefighting, he recalled, when he was growing up in North Valley Stream. A neighbor he looked up to brought him around to a local firehouse, and the environment just seemed like the right place. “I was the little kid hanging around the firehouse, and it just took off from there,” he said.

Before joining the Elmont department, Prince joined the local Explorer post, a junior firefighters club that introduces younger residents to the importance of giving back to the community through the department.

“When I finally hit the age of 18 — now you’re a fireman, you’ve made it into the fire department — it’s just a feeling of accomplishment, and this idea that now the whole company’s behind you,” he said.

Prince is a member of Elmont’s Engine Company 4, which has been run out of its station on Linden Boulevard for more than 60 years.

The main difference between being an officer and being a department chief are the responsibilities that extend beyond the firehouse. Department chiefs — Elmont has four, one overall chief and three assistants — go to weekly meetings in the community, train new department members and recruit firefighters.

There’s also a lot of paperwork. But with that responsibility, Prince said, comes a truly exhilarating feeling of accomplishment. “That’s not the most exciting part of being a firefighter,” he said, “but getting sworn in as a chief in the fire department — you go numb. It’s a really good feeling.”

Prince, who lives in Elmont with his wife, Donna, and sons James and Christian, said that juggling a family with a job in addition to being a fire chief is a huge challenge, but he credits his wife with keeping him and his family running.

He will be officially sworn in at a department dinner on Saturday.

“The highlight of being a fire chief is, basically, racing to the public’s help, the public’s call, whenever they need you,” he said. “And the bond and the friendship you make with your members.”

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