When Richard Barreres was a Weehawken police officer, and his father, also named Richard Barreres, was a fire captain, the younger Richard used to tease his father.
“I was always the law,” Richard Barreres said last week before being sworn in to the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Service. “He was just a fireman. I carried the gun.”
However, after three years with the Weehawken Police Department, the younger Barreres decided to switch over to the fire department.
“He finally made the right decision,” said Barreres’ father, who has been a firefighter for 18 years. “I am very proud of him. He really always wanted to be a firefighter, but the police department came through first. This was his first opportunity to switch over.”
Barreres was one of the 12 new firefighters sworn into the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Service on April 23 at a ceremony held in Schuetzen Park. The department also swore in seven new officers at the ceremony.
These new hires will bring the department up to their targeted number of 310 firefighters, said co-director Jeff Welz.
The NHRF&R serves Union City, West New York, North Bergen, Guttenberg and Weehawken.
The new firefighters will begin training at the Bergen County Police and Fire Academy on April 29. After eight weeks of training, the new firefighters will be assigned to their houses in the middle of June.
The new firefighters are Steven Hillis, Daniel Fresse Jose Ramos, DeOrio, Barreres, Nicholas Prato, Glen Gavin, Salvatore Notaro, James Lisa, Antommarchi, Marcus Rehfeld and John Pachon.
The officers being promoted to the relatively new rank of “company officer” are Joseph D. McLean, Fred Fede, William Demontreux, Todd Houston, John O’Sullivan, Kirk Miick and Thomas Irving.
All in the family
“Firefighting is a family business,” said Chief Ed Flood before swearing in the 12 new firefighters.
Barreres wasn’t the only relative sworn in. Daniel DeOrio, 26, of North Bergen, was sworn in as third generation of DeOrio Firefighters.
“Ever since I was a kid visiting [my father] at the firehouse, [becoming a firefighter] was something that I wanted to do,” said DeOrio.
Daniel DeOrio is following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Michael DeOrio, Daniel’s father, watched his son be sworn in from his seat on stage as the Co-Director of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Service. Michael DeOrio was a North Bergen Police Officer for four years before joining the Fire Department. DeOrio’s father was also a North Bergen captain before he died in 1968. He had had 25 years on the job.
However, even though DeOrio is following in his father’s footsteps, Michael DeOrio said that he has mixed feelings about his son joining the ranks.
“He was a schoolteacher,” Michael said, “and I thought that was a nice job.”
For Barreres, his family was an important deciding factor in choosing his career.
“I wanted to join my family,” said Barreres, adding that being a firefighter will give him the opportunity to spend more time with his new daughter. “It will be a comfortable situation for me. I know they will teach me to do the job right.”
Barreres’ uncle, David Barreres, is also a firefighter with North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Service.
However, Barreres isn’t the only new firefighter leaving law enforcement for the department.
Union City resident John Antommarchi spent three years as a Hudson County sheriff’s officer before being sworn in last week.
“My desire was always to be in the fire department,” said Antommarchi.
‘Company officer’ rank
Seven new officers were sworn in to the rank of Company officer. According to Welz, the company officer is the company’s first line supervisor.
This is a new position that blends the duties of the department’s former captain and lieutenant positions.
“According to the union, there was no difference between the duties of captain and lieutenant,” said Welz. “They had very similar duties.”
Welz said that the state has chosen the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Service as the model department to test this new rank.
In May, 2001, North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue promoted seven officers to this rank.