CANTON, New York (WWNY) - It wasn’t a unanimous vote, but St. Lawrence County lawmakers have appointed a new director of emergency services.

Richard Rusaw, a former fire chief and combat medic in the Army Reserves, has been running the department since Matt Denner resigned earlier this year.

“As of now, I’ve heard no complaints since he’s been acting director, and I think he’ll work out great,” said Legislator David Forsythe (R. - District 2).

Rusaw runs the county’s response to emergencies, managing the 911 center, and guiding local fire departments, where he admits finding volunteers can be tough.

“So it’s looking at what that dynamic is going to be in the future, whether we can continue to work on recruitment retention models and ideas or have to look at consolidation of departments

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