The North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Management Committee named its newest commissioner at their last meeting on Feb. 30.
Guttenberg Deputy Mayor Carlos Garcia, who is also serving his second term as councilman in Guttenberg, will replace Guttenberg Mayor Robert Sabello, who recently stepped down from the position.
The management committee is made up of one representative from each of the five North Hudson towns represented by the fire department. North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue serves Weehawken, West New York, Union City, North Bergen and Guttenberg.
“It is an honor for me to serve on this committee,” said Garcia, who was officially sworn in at an open meeting in North Bergen by the committee’s chairman and retired West New York Fire Chief Robert Aiello.
Garcia is replacing Sabello, who stepped down after serving on the committee for one year. Sabello, 82, said that he is getting ready to retire. As councilman in Guttenberg for 27 years, Sabello serves as the chairman of the Guttenberg Volunteer Fire Department.
“I’m very honored that Mayor Sabello has passed the baton to me and I look forward to representing the residents of Guttenberg in this unique fire department,” said Garcia.
Although Garcia does not have any experience working on a fire department, Garcia has been interested in the committee. Garcia said that he attended the committee’s monthly meetings with Sabello for the past year. Garcia, who served as the head of the town’s Department of Public Safety in his first term as councilman and now heads the Department of Public Works, will be representing the town of Guttenberg on the committee. “My main concern is making sure that Guttenberg is properly represented,” said Garcia.
Guttenberg’s 40-member department is the only volunteer department represented in the regionalization. However, this does not mean that the department does not respond to fires in North Hudson.
“If they don’t respond [to the fire], they replace,” said Garcia explaining that many times the Guttenberg firemen will stay at neighboring firehouses in case of other emergencies during fires.
Garcia said that he is most interested in the regional department because it is one of the first departments of its kind.
“It is a project in progress,” said Garcia. “Get to see things getting done for the first time. Everything is put to the test.”
Garcia does not have any new ideas for the committee yet, but he plans to take an active role.
“I am kind of catching up on what has been done in the past,” said Garcia.