Tom Dombkowski Vies to Keep Fire Commissioner Seat

Tom Dombkowski, a veteran firefighter with the Bridgehampton Fire Department and a Southampton Town Highway Department foreman, is seeking to keep his seat on the Bridgehampton Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners during the Dec. 11 election.

The Sagaponack resident was appointed to the board in September to finish out the year in place of John Muse, who resigned. Now, Dombkowski is running to complete the last two years of Muse's unexpired term.

Dombkowski said he is native to Bridgehampton and has been a member of the fire department for 30 years. Both his father and father-in-law were firefighters, and now his whole family volunteers. His 21-year-old daughter, Courtney, and 19-year-old daughter Samantha are both EMTs and interior firefighters. His daughter Meghan, Samantha's twin, is a member of the fire police company, which his wife, Sandra, also recently joined.

Years ago, he considered running for chief, Dombkowski said, but he had three young daughters, which took that option off the table. But when the opportunity arose recently to become a fire commissioner, he jumped at it.

Dombkowski belongs to the rescue squad, of which he was captain for five years, and the engine company. He is also the current captain of the Juniors, which he said is a program started about 12 years ago for young people who are not old enough to be firefighters but wish to get involved and learn.

He has worked for the highway department for 25 years. “I’m very knowledgeable about things that go on in the district, since I’m in the highway department ... ,” he said. “I would like to fill the seat for the next two years. I feel I have some good ideas for the department itself."

If elected, Dombkowski said, he would like to work toward getting the fire commissioners to see eye to eye and to end bickering on the board and in the department.

He also wants to see new initiatives undertaken to get younger members of the department more engaged, and get the volunteers in front of the community more.

Dombkowski's opponent is Philip Cammann, the sole paramedic with the department's ambulance company.

The election is Dec. 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Bridgehampton Fire Department on School Street. All registered voters in the district — which runs from parts of Wainscott to parts of Water Mill, and includes Sagaponack and Bridgehampton, are eligible to cast ballots.

In addition to the race between Dombkowski and Cammann to sit on the board for the next two years, Dean Foster is running unopposed for a full five-year term.