Buckley Is Running For Hillsborough Board Of Fire Commissioners

(Pat Buckley is one of four people running for the two, three-year Hillsborough Township Board of Fire Commissioner positions. Buckley is one of the incumbents. He has sent in this letter of his experience).

To the Editor:

Pat Buckley joined the fire service in 1996 as a member of Hillsborough Fire Co. #2 in Somerset County where he has held every leadership position and recently held the position of Fire Chief.

Pat is a New Jersey State Level 2 Fire Instructor and a Fire Instructor at the Somerset County Emergency Services Training Academy in Somerset County where he teaches the Truck Company, Bailout, CEVO, Pump Operations, Rules of Air Management Utility Control as well as many of the Firefighter 1 and 2 courses.

Pat has developed several courses such as Electrical Safety for Firefighters, Tactical Truck Operations, Truck Work, Traffic Incident Management, Utility Incident Management, Air Management, The “New” Fire Officer and Solar System Safety.

Pat has worked in the utility/power industry for the past 38 years and holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and an Master of Science in Energy Management.

Pat was elected to the Hillsborough Township Board of Fire Commissioners in February of 2015. As a Fire Commissioner Pat has been responsible to Safety and Training.

Several of his accomplishments include:

• Develop the standard for the qualifications for Fire Officers in the district. Fire Officers are responsible to ensure the safety of the responding firefighters comes first. Only through experience and education can an officer do everything possible to minimize the risks firefighters take on the fireground every day while protecting the public they serve.
• Developed an Air Management program whereby all firefighters know how long they can work at a fire scene on air without running out of air before they have exited the structure.
• Saved the district tens of thousands of dollars per year by working with PEOSH and clarifying the requirements of not having to replace PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that is in excess of 10 years old as long as it is maintained and inspected annually.
• Researched and implemented a district “Bail-Out” system whereby interior firefighters have a tool that could save their lives should they become trapped inside a burning structure with no option to escape but to exit an upper floor window.
• Chaired the district GOG committee to ensure common policies were developed and followed by all of the district fire companies.
• Developed the district “Rehabilitation” GOG to conform to the national standards.

— Submitted by Pat Buckley

(Image via Shutterstock)

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