A man whose family has embraced a tradition of firefighting for four generations was recently chosen to serve as chief of the Lake George Fire Department.
Scott A. Smith, 57, a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, was elected in April to the post by a majority vote of the Lake George fire company membership.
Smith follows Jason Berry who retired from the role of fire chief after about three years in the post.
Smith’s great-grandfather, Frank Brown, started his family’s lengthy tenure of volunteer fire service in the late 1800s on Long Island.
Having served with five fire companies over four decades, Smith started out in 1978 as a volunteer firefighter for the West Islip Fire Department in which his father Ernest was a life member and his mother Edith was a member of the agency’s Women’s Auxiliary.
Eleven years later, Smith moved on in 1989 to be a member of the Farmingdale Village Fire Dept. where his great-grandfather served for much of his adult life.