By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – The Board of Commissioners Thursday approved the promotion of three firefighters to advanced ranks in the Margate City Fire Department. Commissioner of Public Safety Kathy Horn administered the oaths of office to advance firefighters Brian Duffey, Perry Coker and David Funk to leadership roles in the fire department.
Fire Chief Dan Adams said the promotions were made possible by the November retirement of Edward McGrath as fire inspector, and Chris Hornig, who will retire on July 1 after 28 years as a firefighter.
Duffey, who has been with the department since 2000, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and will provide leadership and training for Platoon 1. He is currently president of the Margate Fireman’s Mutual Benevolent Association. He has also been a member of the Margate Beach Patrol since 1993 and is a rowing coach. Duffey started his firefighting career in 1994 as a volunteer member of the Longport Volunteer Fire Department following in the footsteps of his father, John.
“I am going do the same job I’ve always done. Provide the best service possible to the residents of Margate,” he said.
Coker, who started his public safety career as a Class 2 police officer in 2014, became a Margate firefighter in 2016. He was a volunteer firefighter in Seaville and is currently the state executive delegate for the FMBA and an instructor at the Atlantic County Fire Academy. He will provide leadership for Platoon 2 and serve as lieutenant and be the department’s fire inspector, a position vacated by McGrath’s retirement.
David Funk, who was recently promoted as the chief of the Ventnor City Beach Patrol, was promoted to the rank of captain.
He joined the Margate Fire Department in 2004, was promoted to lieutenant in 2020, and is treasurer of the FMBA. He also followed in his father, uncle and grandfather’s footsteps as a volunteer member of the Longport Volunteer Fire Department, where he served from 2000 to 2010. He will lead Platoon 1 overseeing all operations and training.
“It’s a good day for the Margate City Fire Department,” Adams said.
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