VILLAGE OF MINOA – Following a period of inner-department turmoil, a new fire chief has been appointed in Minoa.
The naming of Shawn Tompkins to the part-time position trails this winter’s investigation into complaints leveled against former chief Matt McGarrity just after his re-election. That nearly one-month fact-finding probe resulted in the dismissal of all charges filed, though by then, 15 firefighters from the all-volunteer department had already submitted leaves of absence in protest.
Around that time, Tompkins decided to leave his resume with Minoa’s board of trustees while expressing his availability and interest in helping out the fire department.
Weeks later, Mayor Bill Brazill touched base with him, having been impressed by the Kirkville resident’s background and “motivational quality.”
Tompkins’ interest in firefighting dates back to his kindergarten graduation, when that profession filled the blank for what he wanted to be when he grew up.
His first pursuit of his dream came with his entrance into the Minoa Fire Department’s Explorer program in 1989 at the age of 14.
“I was still in high school when I was doing my EMS training and preparing myself for the higher ranks,” he said. “By the time I was ready to be a full-fledged firefighter, I already had a bunch of experience.”
Eventually he would become the assistant chief for the village before switching over in the early 2000s to Fayetteville’s department and then the DeWitt Fire District, where he retired as deputy chief, but only briefly.
“The fire service is hard to walk away from, since it’s been my life for as long as I can remember,” said Tompkins. “As much as I thought I was done, it turns out I wasn’t.”
Now that his route has come full circle, he said he looks forward to rolling up his sleeves and meeting the challenge of building up the Minoa department as the best model of public service, preparedness and togetherness it can be.
“It’ll be an opportunity to reset and refocus our priorities,” said Tompkins, the son of the department’s treasurer.
Adding that the firehouse fosters a brotherhood, he said it has always been a “comforting, loving” place for him where everyone can joke around and lean on each other for guidance before assisting others on their worst days.
Previously an unpaid position, the Minoa Chief of Fire role now provides an annual salary of $32,000.
