HILLSBOROUGH: Three seek two jobs as fire commissioners

   Three firefighters with extensive volunteer service for fire companies are competing for the two three-year terms on the Board of Fire Commissioners.
   The election is from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. The only poll is at the municipal building on South Branch Road.
   The candidates are Nick Patullo and incumbents Robert Uniszkewicz and Greg Kane.
   Mr. Patullo was fire chief in Finderne in 1991-92 and has become a Flagtown fireman.
   In fact, he was recently named the company’s “rookie of the year,” even though he has 37 years in the fire services and 41 years in emergency medical services.
   He’s a former police officer in Hillsborough (1985-90) and Bound Brook (1990-2000), where he was born and raised.
   Mr. Patullo says his emphasis is to provide “every member of each fire company the opportunity for advanced training and the equipment necessary to provide that protection” while keeping the budget at a minimum so taxes remain low.
   Mr. Uniszkewicz fills the role of treasurer on the Board of Fire Commissioners, where he has served for 12 years.
   A construction finance analyst for PSE&G, he is also treasurer of the Flagtown company, where he has served for 25 years, he said.
   He’s been in the middle of balancing fire safety versus prudent use of dollars, he says, all the while keeping in mind the two-percent cap on any tax increase. He plots the finances to put money aside for vehicles that are planned to be purchased in the next several years.
   ”We don’t bond,” he said. “We put aside money in the capital budget” to be appropriated later.
   Mr. Uniszkewicz says that insurance bills have grown to the point where they consume 10 percent of the operating budget.
   Mr. Kane, a volunteer fire fighter in Flagtown, is completing his third year on this term as a fire commissioner; he also served from 1990-96, he said.
   ”I seem to be able to be able to strike a good balance to provide for the needs of the firemen and taxpayers,” he said. “I treat everybody fairly and do what’s best for the service regardless of what the company asks.”
   Mr. Kane noted that calls for service spiked last year when the hurricane put stress on all three companies. Two companies have boats, he said, and fire fighters sometimes use their ladder trucks in water rescues. Company No. 2 has a high-water vehicle, pressurized and sealed to allow passage in critical situations.
   He’s been a volunteer fire fighter in Hillsborough for 41 years, he said.