Chief Anthony J. Tripp - 5200
Chief Anthony J. Tripp has been an active firefighter for the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for over 29 years, serving first in Hook & Ladder Co # 1 from June 1978 to November 1978, until he transferred into Chemical Engine Co. # 1. Chief Tripp rose through the company ranks starting as Secretary for two years then through the line officer positions of 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant and Captain. In addition to serving as company officer, is a motor pump operator for Engines 521 and 529.

Chief Tripp started his department service as the Department Recording Secretary for six years before being elected 3rd Assistant Chief of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for 2004-2005, 2nd Assistant Chief for 2006-2007 and currently serving as 1st Assistant Chief for 2008 & 2009. Chief Tripp comes from a long line of Chiefs in his family, as his father, Howard T. Tripp Jr. was Chief of the Department in 1978 through 1979, and his uncle Robert Tripp was a Chief of the Department from North Merrick in the early 70's.

Chief Tripp was a fire inspector for the City of Glen Cove for 10 years and is a Certified First Responder by the NYS Department of Health. In the aftermath of 9|11, Chief Tripp received training by the US Department of Homeland Security in Weapons of Mass Destruction, by FEMA in Emergency Response to Terrorism, and by Nassau County Office of Emergency Management for Community Emergency Response Team. [E-mail:ttripp@gcvfd.com]

1st Assistant Chief Rodni N. Leftwich - 5201
1st Assistant Chief Rodni Leftwich has been an active firefighter for the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for over 15 years, serving in Hook & Ladder Company #1. Chief Leftwich served as 1st Lieutenant in 1998, 1999, and 2004, and served as Captain in 2000, 2001 and 2005. Chief Rodni Leftwich was elected 3rd Assistant Chief for 2006-2007 and is currently serving as 2nd Assistant Chief of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for 2008-2009. Chief Leftwich, in addition to serving as company officer, is also a truck operator and engineer for tiller 5211. In his 15+year career as a firefighter, Chief Leftwich received letters of recommendation from Glen Cove EMS, Jericho Fire Department, and the Nassau County Fire Commission for his assistant to those departments.

On February 17, 1996, then firefighter Leftwich, responded to a fire at 1 Mason Drive, residents reported a woman trapped in the burning apartment. Firefighter Leftwich and firefighter John Wellenreuther made entry into the apartment. While firefighter Wellenreuther fanned the flames with a water-can, firefighter Leftwich made his way towards the victim. Firefighter Leftwich observed a wheelchair in a bedroom at which time he felt around the top of the bed and found the victim. Both firefighters worked together to remove the victim from the bed, moving through a fully involved living room to safety. The victim suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation, it was later determined that the female was bedridden and unable to move and exit the apartment herself.

Chief Leftwich was awarded 1996 Department Firefighter of the Year and the Bronze Medal of Valor from the Nassau County Fire Commission for his heroic rescue. [E-mail:rleftwich@gcvfd.com]

2nd Assistant Chief Joseph J. Solomito- 5202
2nd Assistant Chief Joseph Solomito has been an active firefighter for the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for over 26 years, serving in both Pacific Engine and Hose Company #1 and the Rescue Squad. Having already served as Chief of the Department in 1998 and 1999, Chief Solomito has been re-elected; something that hasn¹t been done since the infancy of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department.

Chief Solomito served as 3rd Rescue Officer in 1984-1985, 2nd Rescue Officer in 1986-1987, 1st Rescue Officer in 1988-1989, 1st Lieutenant in 1988 of Pacific Engine & Hose Company #1, and became Company Captain for 1988 and 1989. Chief Solomito was elected the 3rd Assistant Chief of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for 1992-1993, 2nd Assistant Chief for 1994-1995, 1st Assistant 1996-1997, Chief of Department 1998-1999, and now currently serving his two year term as the 3rd Assistant Chief of the City of Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for 2008 & 2009. Chief Solomito is also a Pacific Company engineer and motor pump operator of Engines 523 and 525.

In his 26 years of dedicated service to the City of Glen Cove, Chief Solomito responded with the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department to the 1990 Avianca plane crash in Oyster Bay, the NorEaster of 1993, 1995 Suffolk County Wildfires, and oversaw the Li Tungsten Superfund Site Smokestack demolition in 1998. In wake of 9|11, Chief Solomito continues to train in rescue operations and received U.S. Department of Justice Weapons of Mass Destruction Certification and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Training. [E-mail:jsolomito@gcvfd.com]

3rd Assistant Chief Philip Grella Jr. - 5203
3rd Assistant Chief Philip Grella Jr. has been an active firefighter for the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for over 8 years, serving in Engine & Hose Company No. 4. Chief Grella was also a member of the Sea Cliff Fire Department for over 15 years, where he served as 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, and Captain of the Enterprise Hose Company #1 and the Fire Medic Unit.

Chief Grella was Engine & Hose Company No. 4's Secretary from 2003-2005, served as 2nd Lieutenant in 2006, and Captain from 2007-2009. In addition to serving as company officer, Chief Grella is a motor pump operator for Engine 524 & 528.

In his dedicated fire service career totaling over 23 combined years, Chief Grella received Sea Cliff Fire Department's highest award in 1997: The Fireman of the Year Award along with the Nassau County Firematics Service Award. In 2006, then Lieutenant Grella received a co-citation from the City of Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department for escorting a male occupant out of a burning house to safety. Chief Grella also responded to the Avianca Plane crash in 1990, the NorEaster of 1993, the Suffolk Wild Fires of 1995, and the World Trade Center in both 1993 and 2001. [Email: pgrella@gcvfd.com]