Crime & Safety
Midland Park House Fire Interrupts Wyckoff FD Swearing In Ceremony
Longtime volunteer Lou Graglia assumed the role of chief for the second year in a row.
The 2014 leadership of the Wyckoff Fire Department is officially in place, despite an emergency interruption to a swearing in ceremony on New Year's Day.
A mutual aid call to a house fire in Midland Park made firefighter attendance at the annual ceremony Wednesday slightly lighter than usual. Township officials conducted the ceremony with as many of the new officers who will be helping manage the FD as possible. And, when the rest of the firefighters returned from the call, township officials confirmed all FD officers were officially sworn in.
Longtime resident and firefighter Lou Graglia, who served as chief in 2013, will once again take the helm. This year marks the first that Graglia was elected to the top spot. Last year, Graglia, who was serving as the department's first ever Assistant Chief, was named chief after former chief Mike Rose left the department and moved out of Wyckoff after being elected to the position.
Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Graglia has been a volunteer with the Wyckoff Fire Department since 1991, and has previously served as lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, and Deputy Chief of Company 2. The second-generation firefighter also held various positions in the FD association.
Other firefighters sworn in to leadership positions Wednesday include:
Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- FD Assistant Chief – Timothy Brock
- Treasurer – Colin Bell
- Secretary – Thomas Risseeuw
Company 1
- Deputy Chief – Scott Fisher
- Battallion Chief – Brian Zivkovich
- Captain – Tom Durkin
- Captain – James Abma
- Lieutenant – Matthew Capomaggi
- Lieutenant – Brian DeHaas
Company 2
- Deputy Chief – Brian Hendrickson
- Battalion Chief – Fred Depken
- Captain – Christopher Joachim
- Lieutenant – Daniel Charnesky
Company 3
- Deputy Chief – Andrew Forsyth
- Battalion Chief – Aaron Gettltman
- Captain – Matthew Tani
- Lieutenant – Michael LaBarck
At the ceremony, newly sworn-in Mayor Doug Christie said the FD’s response to the Midland Park fire was, “just another example of the dedication of these volunteers.”
According to a NorthJersey.com report, the two-alarm fire rendered the home uninhabitable, and injured two people.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
