Montebello resident Moshe Engel has officially launched his campaign for Tallman Fire Commissioner, ahead of the December 9 election. Engel, a father of two young boys, has lived in Montebello for over five years and says his decision to run comes from a deep sense of responsibility to his community. He regularly attends village board meetings to stay informed on local issues and has volunteered with Monsey Fire Communications for over a year, giving him a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on how fire departments across Rockland County operate.
Engel told Monsey Scoop that his top priority is addressing what he calls the district’s most urgent problem: response time. He explains that the Tallman Fire Department currently averages a 13-minute response time, not including the additional five minutes from the initial 911 process. “This is far too long in emergencies where every second truly matters,” Engel told Monsey Scoop. He added that there are far too many calls where Tallman units do not respond at all, forcing Rockland County 911 to dispatch neighboring departments. “We should not have to depend on others to protect our own community,” Engel said, stressing that competing departments routinely respond faster. If elected, he says improving response times will be his top priority, which will include aggressively recruiting more local volunteers and launching an exterior firefighter program to make entry into the fire service easier.
Engel also says the district needs to modernize by eliminating its outdated fire bell system, which he notes is no longer practical or necessary. By law, firefighters must receive two forms of notification, and Engel says that already happens through radio and mobile app systems. “The bells don’t add anything anymore except noise complaints,” he told Monsey Scoop. “We can stay fully compliant while also respecting our neighbors.”
Another focus of Engel’s campaign is ensuring the district uses smarter and more efficient mutual-aid strategies. He explains that during structure fires or rescue calls, such as a vehicle extrication, Tallman often calls departments that are farther away and slower to respond, instead of choosing the closest and quickest assets available. “When lives are on the line, we must rely on the fastest help, not the farthest,” he said.
For the past six months, Engel has been attending Tallman Fire District meetings to understand the department’s inner workings and says he is fully prepared to assume the role immediately. He emphasized that he looks forward to working collaboratively with commissioners, chiefs, line officers, and volunteers to strengthen the department and build what he hopes will become the most responsive fire service in the county. “I have tremendous respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line for others,” Engel told Monsey Scoop. “Together, we can make the Tallman Fire Department the strongest and most reliable in Rockland.”
With Election Day approaching, Engel is calling on residents to participate. “When every second counts, make your vote count,” he said. “I hope to earn your support on December 9.”
Proud to support Moshe Engel! His passion, professionalism, and deep understanding of our community make him the right choice for Fire Commissioner. Hoping to see him win on December 9!
Tallman fire district residents get ready to pay higher taxes
AND PLEASE DO NOT DISABLE THE BELL FROM THE FIRE HOUSE
Ok, thanks
If a faster respond time means a small raise in taxes I’m okay with it, but the Bell needs to stay he should make a vote by all the residents if it should stay
I know Moshy, whatever he’s going to do he’s going to succeed till the end b’ezrat hashem.
Why not?
Why not disable the Bell?
Go Moshe!
I’m fully supporting Moshe Engel! His dedication and community insight are exactly what we need in a Fire Commissioner.
Moshe as a airmont resident I fully support you
You have my vote
Why not become part of the Monsey Fire dispatch, which is fast and cuts all red tape? Time to get productive and D/C the old bureaucracy!
Our neighbor had a fire and Tallman Fire Dept. had a great response time. They arrived right away and extinguished the fire. Not sure what Mr Engels problem is. I find it unnecessary to shake things up.
I called last week and it took 13 minutes, I witnessed another call last week aswell, which took 11 minutes to respond, 3 weeks ago there was electric wires burning and the response time was 18 minutes. Those are just the calls I witnessed.
Your Neighbor was very lucky that they arrived quickly, maybe you live closer to the station, maybe we need another fire house. But what’s certain is that change needs to happen.
It’s not rocket science to see that there is a problem, there are not enough members to cover this big of an area, hence why they need to rely on neighboring departments so much of the time. You want hatzolah style response time, or at least something close to that, when a small fire starts it takes 8 minutes to turn into a full structure fire, God forbid.
Since they took over department 7 they increased the taxes with about 280% !!!!!!!!
Ya because they dont pay taxes so they dont care.
ME should get a job and leave us alone
Young ppl need attention
He might not qualify
I’m giving my full support to Moshe Engel for Tallman Fire Commissioner, His commitment to safety and community service speaks for itself….
Fully support moshe Engel good smart honest person remember him build up myrtle shull shamos room
This morning at 3:09 AM, call for an Automatic Alarm in Dykes Lumber (across the road from Tallman Firehouse), after 5 minutes of no response from Tallman, Monsey FD was dispatched. 2 full trucks arrived. Then the Tallman Chief of Department arrived solo with a truck… Yea, people in the district deserve better
This is false info
Seems they need more recruits not necessarily a new commissioner.
Over population
Monsey fire communication is a disaster
I live in spring valley we had a oven fire we called them direct (since we didn’t realize that we are 17 not 7)
The picked up Monsey fire what is your emergency ? I told oven fire at …… okay our members are on the way
Then I waited 25 minutes until I got a truck from 6 hilcrest responded at my door
I asked a friend of mine that is a vaulnter in 17 what’s going on y did Jo one respond
He told me if you have an emergency dial 911 it’s dangerous if you call anyone else
He told me that whenever Monsey fire is getting a private call in other naigberhood district out of 7 (eg 20 25 6 17) the call in to 911 and we don’t want to respond to there calls that’s y no one from 17 responded and after 5 minutes with no response 911 is calling 6 to response
If you would’ve called 911 you would’ve got a truck within 10 minutes
Remember don’t play with lives if you have an emergency dial 911 don’t call anyone else
And if this guy is part of this scamming money making organization Monsey fire communication then don’t vote for him
So you’re saying that SV Dept 17 doesn’t wanna respond to calls called in by MFC so the fault is on MFC?
THIS IS DANGEROUS RECKLESS ACT BY Dep 17.
As someone who lives there how cone you don’t confront your Fire Commissioners about that??
It is important to correct the inaccurate information in the article. You state, “launching an exterior firefighter program to make entry into the fire service easier.” New York State law requires firefighters to be interior firefighter qualified and attend a rigorous training program at the Fire Training Center. An exterior firefighter cannot enter a residence, for example, and save a life. That means that people living in the house will die. An exterior firefighter and drivers must be able to wear a Scottpack (air tank) at the scene of a fire. The fire whistle (not a bell) is used to not only notify firefighters of an emergency, it is used to notify residents of a larger county or state emergency. Now that nuclear power plants are coming back online, which may include Indian Point, it is imperative that the whistle remain active to notify residents of emergencies. In addition, the fire whistle used to blow 7 times per incident and was cut back to 4 blows to accommodate residents requests, but understand that the whistle must be tested and blow in the event of emergencies.
Moshe you are going to make it keep it up nuuuuuu vote for Moshe
How about a “bold campaign” to collect all the signs?