On April 3rd, the Sleepy Hollow Fire Department held their bi-annual swearing in ceremony of newly elected Fire Chiefs & Officers.
On behalf of the Village of Sleepy Hollow, we would like to thank Fire Chief Billy Ryan for his 6 years of dedicated service as Fire Chief, his second time around. Thank you for his commitment, time, and great sense of humor – and let’s not forget the wealth of knowledge that he has been able to share with the Department. We congratulate Chief Ryan on completing another term as Fire Chief.
Taking over for this term is Fire Chief Steven Bencosme. Chief Bencosme has served the department for 15 years. He joined at 14 years old as a Junior Firefighter and is the very first Junior Firefighter in the Sleepy Hollow Fire Department to rise to the rank of Fire Chief of the Department. He most recently served the past 4 years as 2nd Assistant Fire Chief and 1st Assistant Fire Chief. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to a great two years of leadership under his watch. Fire Chief Bencosme also serves our Village as a Police Officer and is the School Resource Officer for the school district. We are very proud of him and his accomplishments.
Our 1st Assistant Fire Chief is none other than Fire Chief John Korzelius. He has served this Department numerous times over the years, and has been an extraordinary and dedicated member of the Sleepy Hollow Fire Deptarment.
Coming in as the newly elected 2nd Assistant Fire Chief (for the second term) is former Fire Chief of Department, Michael Tavano. Fire Chief Tavano has served the department for almost 27 years and is the only Fire Chief of the Department in our history to serve a 3-year term due to the pandemic. He too has been a valuable and proud member of the Sleepy Hollow Fire Dept.
Congratulations to all of the newly elected company Officers, and a big Thank you to all the Ex-Fire Chiefs, who always watch our backs, and the Board of Fire Wardens who keep everything in line.
A special thank-you goes out to Ex-Fire Captain and Village Mayor, Martin Rutyna, who supported the Village’s Fire Department on this important day.
A huge thank-you is also in order to the newly elected members of the Sleepy Hollow Volunteer Ambulance Corps, who are an integral part of our Village. Many thanks to newly re-elected Chief, Angela Martello, for serving multiple terms over the years and who also serves as a Police Officer in our Village. All of our First Responders, Fire & Ambulance, who dedicate countless hours of their own time to serve our community are much appreciated.
Both our Ambulance Corps and Fire Departments are Volunteer Departments.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to volunteer in any capacity.
