About the District
The North Greece Fire District is a political subdivision of the state and a district corporation, encompassing part of the Town of Greece and a portion of the Town of Parma.
Board of Fire Commissioners
The North Greece Fire District is governed by a separate board of five fire commissioners, elected by the qualified voters of the North Greece Fire District at the annual election held on the second Tuesday of December of each year. Each commissioner is elected for a five-year term commencing on the 1st of January following the election. One commissioner is elected each year so that there will always be experienced commissioners on the board. Fire district commissioners receive no compensation. Every commissioner must at the time of his or her election or appointment and throughout his or her term of office be a resident of such fire district.
The District’s ELECTION POLICY can be found here.
Public Meetings
Beginning in 2025, the board will meet to organize on the first Tuesday of January and at 6 PM on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. A second meeting will be held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 3 PM. All meetings will be held at our headquarters (1766 Latta Road, Rochester, NY 14612)
Walt Bedford
Fire Commissioner
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Walt Bedford has served the residents of North Greece for many years prior to his being elected as a Fire Commissioner for the 2022 – 2026 term. In 1974, Walt Bedford joined the North Greece Fire Department as a volunteer. Beginning in 1976, he held administrative positions through the year 1981. In 1980, he began his 20-year career as a line officer, serving as Fire Chief in his final years. During his years in the Fire Department, he also completed three 5-year terms as Fire Commissioner. He held the position of Treasurer of the Fire District from 2012 through 2021.
Walt worked for General Motors for 31 years as a tool & die mold maker. For 15 of those years, he was a skilled trades trainer/developer in the training department responsible for 850+ trades personnel. While at GM he served on several emergency response teams: Medical, Fire Brigade, Hazardous Material and Special Operations.
Throughout the years he has held a multitude of certifications and responsibilities, been appointed to, and served in numerous positions, committees, including state, county, & town as they relate to fire service, medical, hazardous materials, and special operations, all of which were in the emergency services arena.
Over the last 5-decades Walt has kept the same goals and commitments in mind. When request for service comes into the North Greece Fire District, he continues to strive to regard the safety of all involved primarily through a quick response utilizing a well trained and equipped staff. He feels a business plan consisting of continuous short and long-term planning is essential as the key to continued success for the North Greece Fire District.
Jim Maxwell
Fire Commissioner
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Jim Maxwell has been a lifelong resident of the Town of Greece. He has been
married to his wife Mary Jo for 42 years and has two sons.
He was involved in the fire and emergency services profession for over 35 years
serving as both a volunteer and career firefighter. Serving both the Lakeshore and North Greece Fire Departments as a volunteer, he reached the rank of a chief officer in both organizations. His career background includes 26 years with the Kodak Fire Department where he retired as a Battalion Chief and 5.5 years with the City of Batavia where he retired as their Fire Chief.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration and worked for the Monroe County
and New York State Health Departments for four years doing emergency
preparedness and planning for both the county and state.
Jim is currently employed by the Greece Central School District as the Operations Supervisor overseeing the trades groups maintaining 17 District facilities and is looking forward to serving the residents of the North Greece Fire District.
Mark Stolte
Fire Commissioner
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Commissioner Stolte started his fire service career in the Brighton Fire Department. While serving with the Brighton Fire Department he was hired as a career firefighter for the Kodak Fire Department in which he served for 32 years. During his career at the Kodak Fire Department, he joined the North Greece Fire Department where he served for 22 years. He attained the position of Chief of the North Greece Fire Department in 1998 and served through 2000. During this time, he also served as a firefighter for the West Brighton Fire Protection District for 10 years.
Commissioner Stolte has been married to his wife Janice for 42 years and they have two sons and three grandsons. He is looking forward to continuing his public service to the community as a commissioner for the North Greece Fire District.
Bill Rickman
Fire Commissioner
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Bill Rickman has been a lifelong resident of the Town of Greece. He was born in North Greece and has lived there most of his life. After 7 years of living on Lake Ontario, he recently moved back to North Greece with Carol, his wife of 47 years. They have 2 married children and 4 grandchildren.
Bill has an associate degree in Fire Protection Technology and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy with a 4-year degree in Executive Fire Officer.
He began his fire service as a North Greece volunteer at the age of 18 to join his father who was a member for over 50 years. His mother was a charter member of the North Greece Ladies Auxiliary. He is currently a member of the North Greece Exempts.
Bill worked for the Ridge Road Fire District for 36 years and retired as the Deputy Chief. He also spent time as an appointed Commissioner to fill a vacancy at the Hamlin Morton Walker Fire District and is currently serving as their Fire District Administrator.
John Nolan
Fire Commissioner
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Commissioner Nolan is a life-long resident of the town of Greece and a proud parent of three children and grandfather to nine grandchildren. He attended school locally with degrees from SUNY Fredonia and Robert’s Wesleyan College.
John has 43 years of Volunteer Fire Service experience. He was a charter Member of the Barnard Fire Explorer Post 507 which began in 1970. He remained with the Barnard Fire Department for 30 years serving as the Fire Chief from 2017-2019. He also served in the North Greece Fire Department serving as an assistant chief and a deputy chief during his 8 years from 200-2008 and is currently serving as a volunteer in the Lake Shore Fire Department.
His work as a critical care nurse and cardiac catheterization nurse further extends his community service.
John would like to Continue to maintain fiscal responsibility and discipline for our district residents while providing the excellent services that they have come to expect. He plans to provide all our stakeholders the opportunities for personal growth and
professional development and develop data driven initiatives that support and maintain the Fire District’s “Class One” designation.
District Management Staff
Fire Chief: Joe Lissow
Deputy Chief: Jason Klein
District Administrator: Tina Gretzinger
District Secretary: Kari Dutton
District Treasurer | Information Technology: Andy Hinds
History of the District
William Schmitt, a Buick dealer, formed the North Greece Fire District. A Pierce-Arrow truck was purchased for $6,700, the first motorized fire truck in the Town of Greece. In June of 1922, the Blacksmith Shop at the corner of North Greece and Latta Roads became the first fire house, and William Schmitt, the first chief. During the 20’s the Department responded to many fires and traveled out of the District to assist surrounding Fire Departments.
In 1935, Chief William Schmitt declared the 1922 Pierce-Arrow unsafe; two 1936 American-La France pumpers were purchased. The Fire Department had grown to 55 members.
With the beginning of the 40’s, the District purchased an inhalator and placed it in a squad car to be used or medical emergencies. In 1944, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed.
The 50’s saw rapid growth in the North Greece Fire District. The first radio was placed in truck #5. The truck could communicate with the Rochester Radio Control Center. In 1955, Fire radio receivers were purchased for all volunteers. As more homes were built in the eastern part of the District, it was determined that a second fire house was needed. On July 27, 1958, the new house at Latta Road and Mt. Read Blvd. was dedicated. In September of 1958, two new Seagrave pumpers were placed into service at the new fire house.
As we moved into the 60’s the District saw an even faster rate of growth. Many family farms along Latta Road disappeared, and tracks of homes sprung up. On September 15, 1963, the construction of a new communication center and three bay addition was dedicated at the station at North Greece and Latta Roads. In October 1963, the State installed a traffic light at the corner of Latta Road and Mt. Read Blvd. On Sunday, March 21, 1965, a disastrous fire struck the business district in Hilton. Over 500 fire fighters from 15 companies battled the fire. A large portion of the business district was lost. One person died in the fire. The department newsletter, the Alarm, was started in the Fall of 1969 by Patty Williams and Jane Burgess.
As the District continued to grow, the Spring of 1970 saw the ground breaking for the expansion of the Latta Road and Mt. Read Blvd. station. Also, at the same time, Headquarters was moved to that location. The North Greece Benevolent Association was organized in July 1970. 1972 saw the first ladder truck purchased for the District, a Tele-squirt. Also, the ladder truck was the first to be painted with the new truck color – “chrome yellow.” The Department celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1972. In December of 1972, the Department announced the creation of the Fire Prevention and Inspection Division; Gene Preston was in charge. On February 11, 1973, the North Greece Fire Department assisted the Lake Shore Fire Department at the Crescent Beach Hotel fire. The hotel was completely destroyed and one employee lost his life. Tragedy struck the Department on October 4, 1975, when firefighter Charles Werner fell from the back seat of a pumper and was killed.
As the size of the District’s population increased and the demand for service continued to grow, in 1981 it was determined that four full time fire fighters would be hired. They worked 6 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday. In April of 1983, station #3 was completed on English Road.
The history of the North Greece Fire Department up to 1982 was taken from the book Milestones Along The Way 1922 to 1982, written by Eugene Preston and John Stageman.
1983 also saw the opening of the Training ground at 3666 Latta Road. A three-story cinderblock building was constructed as a smoke house. In 1986, Thomas Grace was promoted from career fire fighter to Lieutenant. He was assigned to direct the career fire fighters, dispatchers and administrative staff. This was the year that the new attack pumpers were purchased, and the apparatus colors were changed to white over red. In 1988 the tele-squirt ladder truck was replaced with a 75 foot quint.
With a concern for the many facets of emergency rescues, in 1991 the District purchased a Heavy Rescue Truck. As the North Greece Fire District continued to grow, a need was seen for 24 hour coverage by career staff. In 1996 Station #1 went to 24-7 coverage; and, in 1997 Station #2 joined them. Also in 1997, the first Thermo-Imaging Camera was put into service. Station #2 was extensively enlarge in the same year. In 1999 Station #3 was remodeled and the living quarters were enlarged, and it became a 24-7 operation in 2000. With the turning of the century, our 75 foot quint was replaced with a 105 foot truck.
As we look to the future new and innovative technology will be our guide to change.
Contact the District
Address:
1766 Latta Rd
Rochester, NY 14612
Phone #:
585-865-2887