Emergency services director will retire
Steve Peterson, Ulster County’s director of emergency services since 2014, announced he will be retiring.
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County’s director of emergency services will soon retire after 35 years of service to county residents, County Executive Pat Ryan said Saturday.
Steve Peterson “spearheaded nu- merous improvements to our public safety” during his tenure, Ryan said in a prepared statement.
“I want to thank Steve for his 35-years of service and his dedication to Ulster County ... which will positively impact future generations of first responders,” Ryan said. “His work on behalf of the county will be surely missed and I wish him all the best as he enters the next phase of his life.”
Peterson oversaw the creation and the completion of the Public Safety Training Center on Ulster Landing Road in the town of Ulster. The new facility is over 5,200 square feet, features 13 burn rooms and five forced entry doors. The center, completed in May 2020, provides additional hands-on training equipment that had previously been unavailable within Ulster County.
All of the county’s 49 independent fire districts and departments, in addition to other emergency service and law enforcement agencies, now have access to the facility.
“It has been an honor to serve the residents and visitors of Ulster County in the Department of Emergency Services throughout my entire career,” Peterson said in a prepared statement. “I’ve had the privilege of working with true public safety professionals that go above and beyond every single day as they carry out the mission with compassion and empathy. With the support of County Executive Ryan and his staff we have made several improvements in Public Safety, specifically with the completion of the Public Safety Training Center. In addition, we recently received a $6 million grant from New York state that will improve radio communications throughout the county in support of first responders.”
Peterson started with Ulster County as a part-time emergency services dispatcher in April 1985 and became a full-time employee three years later. He was promoted to a senior emergency services dispatcher in July 1992 and promoted to the position of deputy director of emergency communications/emergency management in January 2011 before becoming director in July 2014. In 2003, Peterson was awarded the New York State EMS Communication Specialist of the Year Award in recognition of his life-saving actions.