Retired Binghamton Fire Captain Griffis Remembered
A retired Captain of the Binghamton Fire Department is being remembered for his service to the community.
Gary Griffis died July 20th according to a paid obituary placed by the family. The listing mentioned the long-time public servant passed away at home surrounded by his family.
In addition to serving with the Binghamton Fire Department, Griffis was a Deputy Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for Broome County, an EMT instructor and an original member of the Southern Tier Critical Incident Stress Management Team.
Griffis retired from the BFD in 2007.
According to the listing, Griffis was 75 years old.
He is survived by his wife and two sons, two step sons and several grand children. Griffis is oalso survived by his two sisters and a brother in law as well as numerous nieces, great nieces, nephews and great nephews
The former fire captain was also a lover of outdoor activities. The obituary published in the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin mentions his love of camping, hunting and hiking.
Calling hours will be held Saturday, August 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Barber Memorial Home in Johnson City. The funeral home is located at 428 Main Street in the village.
The calling hours are to be followed by a Celebration of Life luncheon. The gathering will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post located at 526 Court Street in the City of Binghamton.
The Critical Incident Stress Management Team, of which Griffis was one of the first members locally, works to lessen the emotion impact on an individual and speed recovery from stressful events like response to emergency situations encountered by firefighters, medics, police and others.