(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
Glens Falls Fire Chief James Schrammel waits as the Common Council gives him a standing ovation. He is retiring effective May 6.
Glens Falls Fire Chief James Schrammel will retire effective Saturday May 6. He has been with the city first as a police officer and firefighter for more than three decades. He started, untrained, in the fire department in 1991. The announcement during the Common Council meeting on Tuesday April 25 came 13 years to the day that he was named chief.
“I have enjoyed my time in the city, and I am proud to have played a small part in the journey to where we are today and in helping to shape its future,” the chief wrote to the mayor and the Common Council in his letter of resignation.
The mayor had scheduled the chief to report to the council about the state of the department at Tuesday’s council meeting. After he made his report, the mayor read from Schrammel’s resignation letter and the Common Council gave him a standing ovation.
“I think that’s the first standing ovation I’ve ever had,” Schrammel quipped.
“It shouldn’t have been,” Mayor Bill Collins replied.
In his letter, Schrammel thanked all of the leaders who helped and mentored him, saying that he similarly attempted to mentor those behind him.
“Over my 32-year career, I have worked with 93 firefighters, three secretaries, seven mayors and countless other city officials and employees,” Schrammel wrote in his letter. “I appreciate every opportunity that was afforded to me throughout my career. It has been an honor to have served the citizens of Glens Falls for the past three decades in one of the greatest professions that anyone could ask to be a part of.”
The mayor said that public service could be defined by the way Schrammel has acted in office.
Second Ward Councilor Bob Landry said that Schrammel was “one of the best department heads the city has ever had.”
At-large Councilor James Clark Jr. said, “You’ve made our job over the years easier, so thank you very much.”
The mayor said that Schrammel will stay on in a part-time basis especially to help with the transition of the new chief.
In his report to the Common Council, Schrammel said that he was happy with the changes in the Buildings and Codes Departments, which has seen significant upheaval in the past 18 months, and has been the source for some rancor for some developers in the city.
Schrammel said he and the new Department Head Justin Reckner are not at odds, and they work well together.
“Because of this, in the fire department, we’ve been trying to train more of our people in what they call BSI or building safety inspector,” he said. The city already has six, and all recruits who go to the fire academy will get that BSI training.
He said recruitment is moving, but it is harder now than in years past.
“We are not immune to what every other fire department in the nation is going through,” he said. The recruitment days used to be full of potential recruits.
“Now, you get 14 people,” he said. On top of that, firefighters at the city are also paramedics, but that is a high level of training.
The training for the paramedic program can take three years, but he said they have found that supporting firefighters during the training has been worth it.
[Read more about the paucity of firefighters here.]
The department is still three people short of full, as well, and the department has lost people who are already trained in what Schrammel called “technical disciplines.” He said recruitment is focused there at this time.
The city has a third, new ambulance coming on board shortly, and that will offer flexibility to their response in the area, especially on days when one ambulance must leave the area and transport a patient to Saratoga Hospital or Albany Medical Center, he said.
In the adopted 2023 budget, the fire department drew about $3.1 million. Schrammel’s contract was for $102,100.