Poughkeepsie’s James A. Burns Elected President of Firemen’s Assn of NY

Burns began his 51-year volunteer fire service career with the Verplanck Fire Department in 1961. He served as Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief, and Chief of Department from 1981 to 1984. Burns also served as President of the Fire Company on two occasions and was elected to the Board of Fire Commissioners in 1987, where he served as Chairman of the Board, leaving this post upon his appointment as New York State Fire Administrator by Governor George Pataki in 1995. Mr. Burns served in this position until his retirement in 2007.

Among other accomplishments in his role as State Fire Administrator, Burns presided over the development of the nation’s first cigarette fire safety requirements, which have since been duplicated by 49 other states and countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU.

“In my role as FASNY President, I aim to take a positive step forward on fire safety issues – for example, banning novelty lighters, setting fire safety standards for upholstered furniture and implementing major changes in building methods regarding lightweight construction,” said Burns. “These issues are some of the leading causes of loss of life to both the public and to firefighters across this country. If we in New York could write a standard adopted by all 49 other states on fire safe cigarettes, why can’t we do this?”

Burns has also served as President of the Westchester County Firemen’s Association, the Westchester Fire Chiefs Association and the Hudson Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association. In 1988, he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the NY State Firemen’s Home and served as President of that Board until his appointment as NY State Fire Administrator.

Burns also holds memberships with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), NY State Association of Fire Chiefs, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI),
National Association of Emergency Managers (NAEM), International Fire Service Instructors (IFSI), and many other national and state fire organizations.

Burns has served on the Board of the National Professional Qualification Association (PRO Board) and served as President of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) from 2004 – 2006. He is the retired Postmaster of his home town of Verplanck, having served 30 years as a Postal employee. For seven years, he served concurrently as Fire Chief and Postmaster. In his private life, Burns is married to Cathy. He has a daughter, Rosemary, who is married with one son. He has two stepsons, Dan and Bryan.