VICTOR, NY—Andy Stromfeld was a man who commanded respect, was calm in a crisis and a natural leader, according to the people who knew him.
But the former Fishers fire chief was also known for his sense of humor and as someone who was friendly to everyone, according to former Volunteer Chief Cory Masseth.
"Andy had a lot of close friends," Masseth said, adding that no matter the occasion, whether it was a private dinner with the Masseth and Stromfeld families or a function for the fire department, there was always plenty of socializing.
"We'd be at a restaurant for hours," Masseth said referring to the private dinners, with talk ranging from each of their families to travel, which could include fire safety conferences — another venue ripe for conversation for some of Stromfeld's colleagues and friends.
"He could find people he knew from all over the place," Masseth recalled.
Stromfeld, 60, died March 30 from cancer related to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Stromfeld was a first responder in the aftermath, working as an officer with the Emergency Services Unit with the New York Police Department to search for survivors, according to a release from the Fishers Fire District. After retirement, he and his wife Jodi moved upstate, but Stromfeld wasn't done with first responder work yet.
According to Robert Cline, deputy fire coordinator for the Monroe County Fire Bureau's third battalion, Stromfeld was a "true-blue volunteer" for the fire district.
"It's not something you just walk away from. It's in your blood," Cline said. "Even after leaving police work, you always have that inkling to serve in emergency services."
"I don’t know how he got anything done," Masseth said. "He was busier after he retired than most people are when they’re working."
According to Lt. Drew Cusimano, Stromfeld began his dozen years of service in 2006, when he first joined Fishers as a volunteer firefighter. Eventually, Stromfeld was promoted to district chief in 2012, where he worked until his retirement in 2018. Aside from his work at Fishers, Stromfeld also spent time as a volunteer communications specialist for Mercy Flight, where Cusimano first met him in 2010.
"We spent a lot of time around each other. Mercy is a tight-knit group," much like Fishers was, Cusimano said. "He was a mentor to me, and I really sought out a lot of guidance from him."
One of Stromfeld's more notable achievements for Fishers was transforming the department from an all-volunteer unit to a full-time outfit, a necessity stemming from dwindling volunteer rates.
"Volunteerism is just struggling right now," Cusimano said, adding that the weekly work schedule for many people means "folks aren't available. Depending on the time of day, we might not get any volunteers that are available, which is why we had to bring on career firefighters."
As a result, Stromfeld was able to plan ahead for the declining volunteerism rates, "willing to always put himself second to the organization."
"He had a very dynamic, strategic long-term plan that accounted for the loss of volunteering," Cusimano said, adding that after "year after year of very difficult conversations" with the district's fire commission, Stromfeld was able to expand the ranks of career firefighters, from one to 27. Yet despite Stromfeld's plan for the department, it never meant he thought less of volunteer firefighters.
"No one was worse, no one was better," in Stromfeld's eyes, Cline said. "He really advocated for dynamic crews," wanting people with "strong individual characteristics and traits. He always found people's strength and he always used people’s strength in the highest capacity."
"Andy garnered a lot of respect from his peers. I’ve dealt with a lot of fire chiefs," over 45 years, according to Fire Investigator Thomas Santillo, who worked as deputy fire coordinator for Monroe County when he met Stromfeld. "There are a lot of people you know who are good leaders. And Andy was a good leader."
According to Jeff Harloff, director of emergency management for Ontario County, Stromfeld was also adept in crisis situations.
"Andy personified the command presence," Harloff said, referring to Stromfeld's penchant for being the official who was "ultimately in charge. The buck stopped with him. He had this air of confidence that whatever it was we would get through it together."
Harloff also said Stromfeld was "somebody you’d admire, who’d back you up in life.”
"Andy was one of a kind."
As for Stromfeld's work as a first responder after the Sept. 11 attacks, Cusimano said he was reluctant to discuss his own efforts. However, he was a strong advocate for drawing attention to the work of all first responders during that time.
"It was never about him, it was always about all the heroes at Ground Zero. Interestingly, I knew him for about 11 years and I got to know him really well, and while he was a great advocate for all first responders on 9/11, every now and then he’d open up a little bit about his experiences at Ground Zero. Every time he opened up about those stories, it was not only an emotional moment but a wow moment. It becomes overwhelming, what this man had done,” Cusimano said.
Fishers Fire Chief Daniel Chapman wrote in a statement that both officials had "an instant 'common ground' as we were both cops and fire officers," after meeting at the State Fire Academy several years ago.
"The thing that will stick with me is right up until the end he was worrying about the safety of the residents and staff. He did not talk about his sickness other than to say he was not feeling well or just getting by. His focus on others first is something that the world needs more of now more than ever."
Cline added that "if you were having a bad day, and somebody needed help, Andy was the guy you would want to call."
Stromfeld's decision to serve after his retirement in New York City "shows you're quite a man, when someone can do that. You'd think someone like him wouldn't get involved in this after retirement. But as soon as he came up here he jumped right into volunteer fire services."
"We’re going to miss him terribly."
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