Owego Accepts Firefighter Resignations

The Owego Volunteer Fire Department has a new slate of officers following the resignation of dozens of volunteers last week over the Village Board’s failure to approve a new Standard Operating Guideline document.

The Board has accepted the letters of resignations and appointed Daniel Gavin as the new fire chief.

Some training standards in the proposed S.O.G. were approved and the rest of the 300-plus page guide could be approved at the next board meeting.

Officials say in spite of the resignations, there is no issue of public safety.

While there has been much talk lately about the department having to rely on mutual aid from other departments to respond to calls, officials with other volunteer fire departments point out that other departments always provide mutual aid on fire calls.

It’s not clear how many of the resignations came from active firefighter and how many in the ranks were non-firefighting members of the department.