Mahlon Irish Jr., former fire chief for the Homer Fire Department, retired as a New York state fire instructor after 40 years of service. (Photo provided by the Cortlandville Fire Department).
Mahlon Irish, Jr., a member of the Homer Fire Department since April 1974, began his time as a state fire instructor in January 1984.
Following his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2014, Irish made it his mission to educate firefighters across the state. Irish instructed over 2,500 firefighters throughout the state.
Noted in a release from the Cortlandville Fire Department:
“Irish has instructed countless numbers of firefighters in various classes from basic firefighter operations to fire apparatus operators.
Congratulations to Instructor Irish on your much deserved retirement and thank you for your 40 years of dedicated service to instructing countless firefighters from across New York State.”
Irish held a staff position with the Ithaca city fire department from 1992 to 2011. He was Homer’s fire chief between 2009-14 and 2017-21.
