New Fire Chief Speaks

Chief Bergamini with Rotary Pres. Pam Wall

Newport's new fire chief, George Bergamini, was the featured program at Newport Rotary on December 9, 2013. Chief Bergamini, who has been on the job in Newport for about two months, described his background and then outlined some of his emphases for the department going forward.

The Chief has a federal service background in firefighting, mostly in the Tidewater Virginia area, and when he retired from that employment, he worked in Currituck County (NC) before accepting the Newport Chief position.

He highlighted the quality of the Newport Fire Department personnel, both paid and volunteer, and also indicated that professional development and administration were two of the areas that could be immediately brought up to a high level. He detailed some recent equipment purchases of defribrillators and thermal imaging machines supported by the Town Board in one instance, and the Volunteer Fireman's Association on the other. One of the main concerns he has is the town's ISO Rating for insurance. He spoke in detail and answered numerous questions relating to how that affects homeowners in the Newport area. The club members asked numerous questions which were well answered.