The Riverhead Fire Department has a new chief. Kevin Brooks, a veteran member of the volunteer fire department, was elected to the post this spring. He succeeds outgoing chief Joseph Raynor, whom he served under as first assistant chief.
Brooks, 58, is a Riverhead native and third-generation Riverhead volunteer firefighter who first joined the department in 1982. His father, William J. Brooks Jr. and grandfather, William Sr., each gave the department more than 60 years of service. Brooks moved to Florida for a time, but returned in 2001 and immediately returned to the department, where he is a member of the Reliable Engine Co. 1.
Brooks married his wife Sue in September 1976, a few months after they both graduated from Riverhead High School.
While they are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, they’ve been a couple longer than that. “I went steady with her since 7th grade,” Brooks said with a smile. They have two adult sons and make their home in Polish Town.
Brooks, who works as the maintenance supervisor for the fire district, is in his seventh year as a Riverhead chief. He became a third assistant chief in 2010 and has moved up through the ranks. He ran for chief of department without opposition.
The top spot involves “a lot of paperwork,” Brooks said in an interview in the chief’s office Saturday morning— where he typically spends every Saturday in order to keep up with the paperwork.
The chief is the overall commander of the 175-member, all-volunteer department and is responsible for making sure everything runs properly, Brooks said. Each of the four chiefs has specific roles within the department and also at the scene of an incident. There are a minimum of two chiefs on duty at all times. And they are kept busy day and night.
Riverhead’s chiefs answer every automatic alarm that goes off within the 48-square-mile fire district, which spans three towns: Riverhead, Southampton and Brookhaven and is geographically the third largest in New York State. They answered 1,274 calls last year and, with 640 calls answered as of June 30, they are on pace to do match or exceed that number in 2016.
As of the end of June, the department answered 154 general alarms — automatic alarms excluded. Not every automatic alarm is a “false” alarm, the chief notes. Cooking mishaps, for example, or burnt popcorn in a microwave are not “false” alarms, but don’t generally require a general response from the department with manpower and apparatus.
“We are a very busy department,” Brooks said. All of the condominium complexes, apartments and commercial premises in the district make for a lot for the chiefs to look after day in and day out.
Brooks stresses that, though he’s chief this year and next, it’s “100 percent a great collaborative effort” among him and his three assistant chiefs: First Assistant Chief Pete Jackman, Second Assistant Chief Tim Corwin and Third Assistant Chief Bill Kelly Jr.
“I’ve been blessed with extremely dedicated assistant chiefs,” Brooks said.
He also stresses with equal conviction the importance of the understanding and support volunteer firefighters get from their families at home.
Firefighters, especially officers in the department, spend a great deal of time every year going through a lot of training — in addition to answering alarms and attending meetings.
“Our members spent 16,035 hours on training and other various activities within the department in 2015,” Brooks said. Almost all of it is “under the radar,” so the general public is unaware of the tremendous time commitment involved, the chief said.
That’s in addition to the 10,517 hours spent responding to the 1,274 alarms in 2015 — traveling over 81,077 miles to do so.
“Without the support you get from your spouse or significant other and the rest of your family, you just couldn’t do this,” Brooks said.
He also said the support of local employers is crucial. Many local, family owned businesses allow their volunteer firefighters on staff to leave work when there’s an active fire.
To the chief’s mind, an effective volunteer fire service truly takes a village: dedicated volunteers, dedicated officers and chiefs, supportive families and supportive employers. It also takes good communication with neighboring departments, he said. As chief, Brooks is the department liaison to the chiefs councils for each town the Riverhead Fire District touches, which, among other things, each required his attendance at monthly council meetings. He is also the department’s representative on the Suffolk County Chiefs Council. Those groups are important for the chiefs to get to know each other and also for sharing information. The departments often assist each other on mutual aid calls. When that happens, Brook said, “You want to know each other beforehand.”
Riverhead Fire Department, founded in 1836, is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year.
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