Graham fills a position vacated by the retirement of John McAneney in May. Brian Tingley also recently retired, leaving the department two firefighters shy of full strength. The department is in the process of reviewing civil service candidates for the open positions.
Graham joins two other 2021 hires — Mike Robbins and Chad Hancock, who were North Hornell volunteer firefighters.
"We're getting on track for the fall. All the classes start back up, so the newbies will be going to paramedic school and some will be going to regular fire classes," said Brzozowski. "We're trying to get our training back up. A lot of experience is going out the door with these retirements, but our new hires will catch on quick. They’re hard workers."