By Marley Seaman
Doug Wiedmann, the former 1st deputy chief from Hose Company Three, will be the next chief of the department. Greg Hess, also of Hose Company Three, will move from 2nd deputy to 1st, and Eddie Mullen from Hose Company One will become the new 2nd deputy. Truck Company One's Todd Esposito will be 3rd deputy chief. Each man will serve a one-year term, beginning Jan. 1.
Wiedmann has been a fire department volunteer for 11 years. His father was also a volunteer fireman, and his brother is a New York City firefighter. He also leads the department's Bureau of Fire Prevention, which provides fire safety lectures for schoolchildren and community groups, and co-chairs the Emergency Operations Center for the 2nd Battalion Fire Districts. That area includes Baldwin, Oceanside, Freeport, Long Beach, Island Park, Point Lookout and Atlantic Beach.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be elected," Wiedmann said.
Department chiefs progress through the ranks of their companies, moving from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant and then captain. From there they are allowed to run for 3rd chief deputy, and rise to department chief over the succeeding years, returning to their original companies at the end of that term.
