Teaneck names first African American to fire chief post

By Joseph Ax, NorthJersey.com

Anthony Verley was sworn in as the town’s newest fire chief this week, the first time this diverse town has named a black man to the post.

“When you make a milestone like that, it’s after the sacrifices of many before you,” Verley said Wednesday. “I appreciate that there are many others that blazed a trail before me, and I hope that I will now help someone else progress in the future.”

Verley, who has served as interim chief since Robert Montgomery’s retirement this spring, has experienced a turbulent couple of years.

In 2009, he was demoted from deputy chief to captain when the town eliminated the rank of deputy chief as a cost-cutting measure.

Earlier this year, after a series of legal challenges from the town’s two fire unions and a ruling from the state that the captains were improperly asked to perform duties outside of their rank, Verley was reinstated as a deputy chief.

On April 1, he became interim chief, only to watch as the Township Council approved a plan this fall to eliminate the positions of police and fire chief in favor of a public safety director. That decision was reversed last month after the police union filed a lawsuit challenging its legality, and Verley was finally appointed chief on Tuesday.

“It’s been emotional,” Verley said, adding that the retirement of five veteran deputy chiefs last year — who opted to leave rather than face demotion — also drained the department of valuable experience.

Verley, a 23-year member of the department, has also been a member of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps for 27 years. The 48-year-old spent about a decade in Teaneck after moving to town as a teenager and now lives in River Vale with his wife, Donnett.

“It’s a source of great pride for me as an African-American, and it’s a source of great pride for the community,” said Township Manager William Broughton, who is the town’s first black manager. “It’s a very proud moment to see somebody that you’ve observed over 20 years to develop into the type of professional that he is.”

Twenty-four-year veteran Thomas Draney was also promoted from battalion chief to deputy chief to replace Verley and will serve alongside Joe Berchtold. Draney, a graduate of Teaneck High School, is a second-generation firefighter; his late father, John, was a fire lieutenant in the department.