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Firefighters to open new breather packs Wed.

By Dollie Gull

CAIRO — Volunteer firemen in Cairo are looking forward to Wednesday night when they will receive their new helmets and jackets, along with 20 Scott “breather packs” which will allow them to fight a fire inside a burning structure without hindrance of smoke inhalation.

The packs and gear have arrived, it was learned at Monday night's Cairo Board of Fire Commissioners' meeting at the Cairo Hose Company No. 1 firehouse. The gear will remain crated as it arrived, shipped from the manufacturer: MES Corporation, of Chicago, Ill.

A representative of Garrison Fire and Rescue Corp. in Palenville, as well as representatives of MES, will be on hand as the boxes are opened, — when volunteer firemen will be assigned individual breather packs and gear.

Two, two-hour training sessions will be scheduled at a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the firehouse when a Garrison representative will be present for the unpacking of the gear and breather units, according to Volunteer Fire Chief Gerry Buckley.

At its Monday meeting, fire commissioners approved four firemen as fire chief assistants: Randy Buel, first assistant fire chief; Ray Feml, second assistant; Bill Smith, third assistant; and John Buckley, fourth assistant fire chief. However, a tie vote failed to name Brian Feml as an assistant to the chief. Voting “no” were commissioners John Fabrizio and Allan Auger. Voting “for” were commissioners Patrick Pugsley Sr. and Tom Dwyer. Not present was Commissioner Darrol Hutson.

The commissioners also accepted Todd Hotaling as a new volunteer fireman, but tabled naming Brian Henderson as a member until a security background can be completed.

Previously, firefighters holding these positions had resigned in contention with a majority of fire commissioners who had appeared disinterested to not accept bids of a low bidder for the breather packs, but finally did so in a second bidding round. Pugsley and Dwyer had sided with the fire company in the debate. Buckley had resigned his position, as had all previous volunteer firemen named as assistant chiefs.

Commissioners finally accepted bids by Garrison for the MES Scott packs several weeks ago.

A topic of discussion at the meeting by members of the hose company and its ladies' auxiliary was an early morning Monday fire which “totaled” Cairo’s Sting Ray Bar and Grill on North Main Street.

“The building was totaled,” reported Buckley. “I received the call at 3:50 a.m. (Monday) and when I arrived, flames were shooting out from under the eaves of the structure. Cairo firemen rolled five fire fighting units to fight the fire and members of the Round Top Volunteer Fire Department stood by to help.

“The building was gutted,” Buckley reported, unable to immediately place a monetary amount on the cost of the fire.

He reported that, because the origin of the fire is unknown, he alerted the Greene County “C&O Team” — or cause and origin team — that is a county designation for an investigative unit.

When the C&O Team was also unable to determine the fire's origin, the State Police Department's Catskill Barracks' “BCI Team,” — or Bureau of Criminal Investigation — was called in.

As of Monday evening the cause of the fire had yet to be determined.

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