Officer Elections and 2021 Year In Review

The Margaretville Fire Department elected its officers for 2022 at the December meeting. The following officers were chosen to lead the department for 2022:

Chief: Nelson Delameter

1st. Asst. Chief: Alan Gavette

2nd Asst. Chief: Sarah Hubbell

Fire Police Chief: Bob Vining

Captain: Nate Bramley

Lieutenant: Henry Friedman

Lieutenant: Chris Rosa

President: Don Bramley

Vice President: Nate Hendricks

Secretary: Sarah Hubbell

Treasurer: Kim Maggio

Members at Large: Mike Porter, John Hubbell

The department had a very busy year in 2021. Members answered 221 calls for assistance during the year, a 30% increase over our average of about 145 calls a year. Among the factors that may have contributed to the increase are a significant increase in full-time residents, increased traffic in the area, increased demand on hospital and ambulance services, and the establishment of more Airbnb rentals.

Each of the 221 calls involved an average of nine members spending in excess of one hour on the scene.

To break it down, the department responded to:

87 medical assistance calls with Margaretville Memorial Hospital’s ambulance

team. This includes landing zone setups as well as on-scene assistance.

21 motor vehicle accidents

29 automatic alarms

11 building fires

8 grass and brush fires

28 hazardous conditions (trees and power lines down)

28 good intent, cover assignments, and mutual aid calls

The Margaretville Fire Department would like to thank the neighboring departments that have provided assistance to us throughout the year. Without you, we would be unable to meet the demand that is required of us throughout the year.

In rural communities like ours, volunteers are the core of emergency first response. Our mission goes beyond firefighting and prevention: We are on call to respond to accidents, emergencies, and natural disasters of all kinds, and to help our neighboring fire departments respond to larger incidents.

Fire departments are facing a critical shortage of volunteers in rural New York and across the nation. We are proud to serve our community and our neighbors. If you are interested in joining us as a volunteer firefighter or a member of our auxiliary, or would like to know more, contact us.

Chief Nelson Delameter