Peekskill Appoints Seymour First Full-Time Fire Dept. Chief
By Rick Pezzullo
The Peekskill Common Council appointed James E. Seymour IV as the city’s first paid full-time Fire Department Chief Monday night.
Seymour, who began his fire service career as a volunteer with the City of Peekskill Fire Department in 1995 at the age of 18, will earn an annual salary of $183,000 to oversee 24 paid staff and 54 volunteers, starting on Jan. 1.
Since transferring to the Village of Scarsdale Fire Department in 2004, Seymour has served as firefighter, captain, municipal training officer and chief, the latter a position he has held since 2016.
“It is with tremendous pride and enthusiasm that I have accepted the position of Fire Chief of the City of Peekskill Fire Department,” Seymour said. “There is no greater honor for me than to serve in this capacity and continue the proud history and traditions of the department where I began my career as a volunteer 25 years ago with Washington Engine Company.”
The Peekskill Fire Department has always been managed by elected volunteer chiefs, but in recent times the bulk of daily fire incident responses has been provided by paid staff with dedicated volunteers providing essential support, especially at large blazes.
The Common Council commissioned an independent study of the city fire department structure by retired Chief Ed Rush, who recommended adding a paid full-time chief. Several public meetings and hearings were held on amending the City Code and Charter to make a full-time chief position, which was adopted by the council on Nov. 22.
“As the mayor of this great city, I am thrilled to welcome Chief Seymour back to Peekskill as our first full-time fire chief,” said Mayor Andre Rainey. “As my term concludes, I’m very thankful our city manager, staff and council understand the needs of our community and have all agreed to invest in our fire department. This is the beginning of a very necessary, positive and encouraging change.”
“Chief Seymour’s experience as both a volunteer and paid firefighter, as well as leading a combination department in Scarsdale, makes him uniquely suited to lead the City of Peekskill firefighters, both volunteer and paid, as the department grows to meet the needs of a dynamic small city,” said City Manager Andy Stewart.
Seymour’s appointment was also praised by some of his peers.
“I have known Jim since his childhood and am very excited to see him rejoining the Peekskill Fire Department as our first paid chief,” said Lenny Varella, a former fire chief and current President of the Peekskill Volunteer Fire Association. “I support the creation of a paid chief position in Peekskill, though I understand this change is felt by some of our members as a disruption of our traditional form of leadership.”
“I have known Jimmy for many years, he has put in his time and advanced through the ranks, and I wish him all the best in his leadership of the department,” said Chief John Rose.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
