03/12/2026
Congratulations, Chief!
With the announcement of Chief Andrew Mallow’s retirement on March 20, 2026, many immediately began asking the same question:
Who could possibly step into shoes that large?
In the fire service, there are names that become more than rank, title, or helmet shield. Names that, over time, become attached to memories, lessons, firegrounds, classrooms, difficult nights, hard conversations, and moments when leadership mattered most.
Tim Overly is one of those names. 🚒🔥
Today, with tremendous pride, genuine happiness, and a great deal of emotion, we congratulate Tim Overly on being named the next Fire Chief of the City of Elmira Fire Department.
For many, this feels bigger than an appointment.
It feels like watching a lifetime of service come full circle.
Chief Overly retired from the City of Elmira Fire Department in 2022 as Deputy Fire Chief after 27 years of service. But careers like his are never measured simply by years. They are measured by what was carried, what was taught, what was given, and what was left behind for others.
Through those decades he served as Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, and Deputy Fire Chief, earning every rank not by seeking recognition, but through consistency, humility, and a quiet kind of leadership that people trusted.
But anyone who knows Tim knows his story has never belonged to one department alone.
For some, he will always be “Instructor Overly” through the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Fire Academy, where firefighters learned not just skill, but confidence, discipline, and pride in the profession.
For others, that same instruction came through OFPC outreach programs here in Chemung County, where lessons delivered years ago are still carried on trucks, in classrooms, and on firegrounds today.
For many, he is "Assistant Chief Overly" with Community Fire and Rescue Company.
Others know "Firefighter Overly" with Big Flats Fire Department, because no matter how much experience he carried, service was never beneath him.
Across Chemung County, many know him as "Deputy Fire Coordinator Overly", arriving on scenes where his presence often meant calm in the middle of uncertainty.
Across New York State, many know him through the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, where again he chose to teach, mentor, and give back to a profession that has always meant more to him than a title ever could.
And when all of those titles are placed side by side, what emerges is something larger than rank:
A firefighter who never stopped serving, regardless of the patch on his shoulder, the helmet front on his helmet, the name on his coat, or the apparatus he arrived on.
He has taught firefighters who now teach others.
He has mentored people who now lead departments of their own.
He has stood in classrooms, on firegrounds, in command posts, and beside people during moments they still remember.
Some people pass through the fire service.
Some leave it stronger than they found it.
Some quietly become part of why others stay.
Tim Overly has done all three.
For many reading this, there is likely a memory tied to his name:
A class.
A correction.
A fire scene.
A conversation.
A lesson that stayed longer than expected.
A moment when his experience changed how someone else carried themselves afterward.
That is what legacy looks like.
Not something written after the fact.
Something built call by call, class by class, year after year, often without ever asking for recognition.
And now, to see him return to lead Elmira Fire carries a meaning many in the fire service understand immediately.
As Chief Mallow prepares to retire at the end of next week, he leaves behind a department he worked hard to strengthen, and there is real comfort in knowing those responsibilities now pass into hands that have already spent decades carrying weight, earning trust, and leading with integrity.
The badge may change.
The title may change.
The office may change.
But the kind of person who has always answered when needed does not change.
Congratulations, Chief Overly.
Your fire service family is proud.
Your impact already reaches farther than most realize.
And this next chapter will continue a story many have already been fortunate enough to witness. 🚒🇺🇸🔥
And for all who read this, many of us have heard you say this over the years in classes:
“Professionalism is defined by discipline, pride, training, and the way you answer the call.”
We look forward to seeing you out there, Chief!
