Valley Stream Fire Department welcomes its new chiefs

The Valley Stream Volunteer Fire Department held a private swearing-in ceremony last Thursday evening to welcome a newly elected chief and his assistants. Mayor Edwin Fare swore in Chief Patrick Scanlon for another year. Anthony Capone was re-elected First Assistant Chief and Michael Colucci was re-elected Second Assistant Chief. Former Chief Brian Howley was also re-elected as the department’s Third Battalion Delegate.

Scanlon previously served as first assistant chief and Anthony Capone as second assistant chief under former Chief Eugene O’Brien II.

Scanlon told the Herald last year he had aimed to push for new plans to expand the outreach and preparedness of the department. “We’ve been trying to work on a new training center to help with recruitment, retention, and training of old and new members. This way we can have all the members have a set location to train,” he said. Such plans appear to be coming to fruition with approved funding for a new in-house firefighter training facility and replacing a decades-old vehicle, Fire Engine 342, tasked with carrying firefighters and equipment.