Outgoing fire chief reflects on the ‘privilege’ of service in Riverhead

As of Tuesday night, Riverhead Fire Chief Kevin Brooks will get to do something he hasn’t been able to do in eight years: roll over in bed when a call comes in for a chiefs’ investigation.

The fire chiefs in Riverhead answer dozens of alarms like that every year — every time a smoke detector or CO2 alarm or some other automatic alarm sounds. Over his eight years in the chiefs’ cycle, Brooks has answered hundreds. And that’s on top of the more than a thousand other alarms answered by RFD rank and file firefighters every year.

The veteran firefighter becomes “ex-chief” Brooks tomorrow night, when First Assistant Chief Peter Jackman will be sworn in as chief of the department at the Riverhead Fire District Commissioners’ meeting.

Brooks, 60, a 21-year member of the Riverhead Fire Department, put in his time as second lieutenant, first lieutenant and captain of his company — Reliable Hose — prior to his election as third assistant chief in 2010.

The path to chief of the approximately 180-member volunteer fire department requires an extraordinary commitment of time and energy. The chiefs are the first responders for every alarm answered by the department — 1,256 in 2017 alone. They are also responsible for reporting, training and the overall function of the department, which protects a 48-square mile district, the third largest in New York State.

“We have everything in this district,” Brooks said. Bodies of water, forests, large-scale commercial development, a significant oil storage facility, multi-family housing — it’s all here in Riverhead township, he said.

Recent development has brought with it new challenges, such as five-story buildings downtown and more traffic volume to contend with when firefighters respond to emergencies.

“We’re up for the challenges,” Brooks said. “Every time something new comes along, we adapt.” He added that he personally wished the pace of development would slow down. “Some call it progress, but I don’t know.”

Brooks sat back in his chair at his desk in the chief’s office Friday, surrounded by books and manuals, stacks of papers and framed photographs.

“I always considered it a privilege to lead the Riverhead Fire Department,” he reflected. “I’ve always been proud to be a member of the department.”

He recalls with pride the saves his firefighters had during his tenure as chief, such as the time they pulled an unconscious man from a burning home on Middle Road and another time when they rescued a man and a dog from a burning mobile home in a park off Osborn Avenue.

“Your success as a chief is based on the voluntary cooperation of other people — your family, other firefighters, support from the surrounding departments,” Brooks said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

The camaraderie of fellow firefighters is also a source of great reward, he said.

The job can take a toll on a firefighter’s family life, especially a firefighter serving in a leadership role.

“It’s such a big part of your life,” he said. “If your family’s not ready for it they can be in for a rude awakening.”

Brooks said his wife Sue — they were high school sweethearts who married soon after graduating from Riverhead in 1976 — has supported him “110 percent” in his career as a volunteer firefighter, and especially in his eight years in the chiefs’ positions.

“Now I have an eight-year honey-do list,” he joked.

Along with Jackman as chief, the commissioners tomorrow night will swear in Tim Corwin as first assistant chief, Bill Kelly Jr and second assistant chief and Joe Hartmann as third assistant chief. The slate was nominated by the vote of the department membership, but the new chiefs don’t officially assume their new roles until appointed by the board of commissioners.