Longtime Oneonta Fire Chief Francis Russo Dies

Francis "Cootie" Russo, the longtime Oneonta Fire Chief, passed away this weekend. There has been no public statement as to how Russo died.

He began serving as Oneonta's Fire Chief in 1984 and retired from the position. His son, Frank, is a retired firefighter from the Oneonta Fire Department and is currently the Oneonta Family YMCA Executive Director.

Oneonta's current fire chief, Patrick Pidgeon, was hired by Russo and said the following:

(Russo) was a Fire Chief when I first came in and hired me with the city. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. As all firefighters, we have a brotherhood here, and he will be dearly missed. He was a great training officer for the department and, again, our thoughts and prayers are with the family.