Mike Colón Media

A definitive glimpse inside day-to-day life in the West Haven Fire Department

WHFD Fleet out on The Apparatus Bay

Located at 366 Elm Street, the headquarters of the West Haven Fire Department is in many respects one of the unofficial landmarks of our city. A two-story brick building located along a bustling street, it is for 56 men and women a second home. All of different backgrounds, ages, and walks of life bonded by a common trait: a desire to help others. For 24 hours, they eat, live, and sleep here all while simultaneously working and working often. A slow, uneventful, department this is certainly not.

Ranking in the top 10 in terms of call volume, there is generally little time to catch your breath. From medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, public assistance calls, and box alarms, the apparatus in headquarters and Engine 25 at the other station in the Center District located on Meloy Road is seldom stationary. There are four shifts, A, B, C, and D, and each is helmed by a captain and under that captain, three lieutenants. Two ambulances, two engines not counting our spares, a ladder truck, and a rehab unit make up our fleet. The schedule is 24 hours on, 72 hours off though some members work longer due to overtime. This is a glimpse at them. What they do, why they do it, and who they are.

B-SHIFT

Date: Thursday, December 5, 2024

Platoon: B-Shift

Commander: Captain Roy Sebas

Lieutenants: Joe Bruneau, Kevin Sweeney, Nick Amendola

The second of the four 24-hour shifts we have in the Center District; Captain Roy Sebas is at the helm today. A 20-year veteran, he’s been with our department since 2004 and a Captain since 2021. A highly respected fire officer, he like all of our captains is perpetually on the go. Even on the days where the call volume may not be as high, training sessions both in house and out on the street do not allow for very much downtime.

On the agenda for this rainy dreary December Thursday is a HazMat refresher course. It will be an all-day class taught by Assistant Chief Walter Seaman of the Naugatuck Fire Department. A tri-district session, this class will bring our friends from the West Shore and City of West Haven-Allingtown districts on over to our Elm Street headquarters. It’s a little after 9:30AM, no calls yet but that can all change on a dime not only for headquarters but for Engine 25, the other fire station in our district, as well. Located on Meloy Road, a mere five minutes from headquarters, they will be down for this class too.

Helming that crew is Lieutenant Kevin Sweeney. A second-generation firefighter and fire officer, he has 12 years on the job and three as a Lieutenant. A medic, EMS is his forte and his knowledge in that realm has served as a very helpful resource for our newer medics. Lt. Sweeney’s father, Edward Sweeney, retired as a Deputy Chief after serving 34 years in West Haven. A mentor to many, the Chief remains in retirement a revered figure amongst our more veteran members who worked under him, including both of his sons, the aforementioned Lt. Kevin Sweeney, and Brian Sweeney of the A-Shift, himself recently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, making him a third-generation firefighter and officer.

Mike Southworth is the driver of 25. 2024 marks his 23rd year on the job. Joining the department in February 2001, he returned from a major knee injury to full duty not too long ago, his resilience and desire to return work most definitely admirable. He can with his many years at the wheel drive the engine in his sleep. Most B-Shifts, the driver’s seat of 25 is his office and he is quite comfortable there. Another of the old guard, he has stories for days and the humor in which he relates them make him all the more fun to be around.

Jake Gannon and Ryan Pickering are on Rescue 51 today. They have not been seen much; the call volume has had them out on the street for most of the morning. Such is the high rate of medical dispatches in our district that two ambulances are a necessity: Rescue 27 and Rescue 51. While 27 is the primary and only assignment for the two firefighters assigned to it (usually a medic and EMT or two medics) 51 is unique in that the two firefighters assigned to that apparatus are pulling double duty, with one member assigned to our Engine 21 as their primary assignment for the tour, and the other, to our Truck 22.

Unless already out on a medical call, it would not respond on a box alarm, though it has in the past. HazMat class rolls on and whilst that is in effect, Captain Jacob Urban and Chief of Department James O’Brien head out to the Savin Rock Elementary School. Captain Urban, a 15-year veteran of the department is our Training Captain serving as our primary safety officer in addition to heading up our training division. He has held that role since July of 2021. With him is Danny, our fire dog. A berne doodle, Danny is our therapy dog and after members go through particularly rough calls, is a welcome sight.

Captain Urban (wearing hat with the number 16 on it) in command during a multi-alarm structure fire on February 28, 2024

Chief O’Brien has been with our department since 1993. In his mid-60’s, he’s been our Chief of Department since 2007. An approachable person with a very calm and friendly demeanor, Chief O’Brien has made it a point to emphasize community outreach and the building and maintaining of relationships. Such is the case with this latest initiative, a donation of stuffed animals to local kindergartners and first graders. Danny, naturally, is a hit with the kids and the toys they receive serve as an icing on the cake.

Chief O’Brien (Back Row; 6th From Left) with Danny the Fire Dog and our tinier residents at the Savin Rock School

With the outreach complete, it is back to quarters. Lunch is up. Chicken soup is the meal of the day. Alphonse DeLucia and Sarah Elkins were on the stove for that, naturally, it is delicious. A medic, Al is in his rookie year and has hit the ground running. He has been a model “probie” (or probationary firefighter) and is well liked around the firehouse for his good attitude and outlook. The same is true of Sarah. With a year and a half on, her rise has been quick. She is already driving the Engine. A native of Windsor, her father Scott was on the job in East Hartford, retiring as a a lieutenant, and she’s continued the family tradition, graduating from the Connecticut Fire Academy in May of 2023.

The kitchen table is often the center of any firehouse, ours is no different. The kidding around, discussion of world events, stories you would never get anywhere else, and latest developments of the firehouse are discussed over meals. Laughs, tall tales, and the solutions to the ills of the world have been spoken at this table since our department’s inception in 1888. Generation by generation, era by era, the personnel may have changed but that tradition certainly has not.

Alphonse with our Board of Commissioners during his swearing-in on August 24, 2023

Sarah Elkins’ Department Headshot (2023)

Class resumes after the meal break. Not for the Rescue 27 crew, however. On it for this shift is Dominick Avallone (an EMT) and Chris Ulizio (a paramedic). Part of eight new firefighters we hired under the FEMA agency’s SAFER grant awarded to our department, Dom, Chris, and Alphonse were among the three of that class which graduated in December of 2023 to be assigned to the B-Shift, those two as of late have been the tandem on the rescue. Out they go to a reported “sick call” as we label them.

When you talk of opposites attracting, that defines those two. Dom, a more extroverted individual, is one of the funnier characters in our firehouse, making him a prime target for the good natured ribbing that takes place in the fire service. At 23, his path into the fire service was set from boyhood when he played in little league baseball, his team coached by several individuals including Chief of Department O’Brien.

Chris, a Durham, Connecticut native is more on the shy side but a very funny guy in his own right who like Dom and Al is well-loved and well regarded. Even keel, what has most stood out with him amongst his colleagues is his calmness, a must when dealing with the distressing situations first responders often face.

Chris with our Board of Commissioners during his swearing-in on August 24, 2023

Dominick taking up from a call last summer

Lieutenant Nick Amendola, fresh off his promotion to the rank is in the front seat of 21. A 6-year veteran, he was formerly an amateur mixed martial artist before he chose the fire service as a career (believe me folks, you don’t want to take a punch from this guy). His father was a firefighter in the Allingtown district and his brother recently graduated the fire academy alongside our three new recruits. A father to be pretty soon, the Lieutenant also has an even keel demeanor that has suited him well as a firefighter and undoubtedly, as an officer too.

The officer aboard Truck 22 is Lieutenant Joe Bruneau. Simply put, though he will not by any means acknowledge it, Lieutenant Bruneau is a legend of the West Haven Fire Department. Coming onto the job in September of 1995, Lt. Bruneau is a second-generation firefighter. His father was also on the job in the Center District from 1969 until his retirement in 1999 and his cousin Willy also served on the department, even at one point holding badge 1 representing the most senior line firefighter, before his retirement in 2015.

He served as a firefighter for 28 years prior to getting the promotion to Lieutenant, making him the longest tenured firefighter ever to be promoted in department history. A former driver of Engine 21 and Truck 22, he too like his cousin Willy held the prestigious badge 1, signifying the longest tenured firefighter on the department, a badge distinction he would hold for five months before his well deserved promotion.

A link to our department’s past while very much a part of our department’s present, he is someone who has been leaned for advice by our younger members and is never shy to share it. When he speaks, you listen and when he retires, a pivotal part of this department’s history will walk out the door with him. You cannot replace his experience and knowledge, making it all the more important for newer members to try and draw as much as they can from him before that day comes.

With him on the Truck is Erik Stalzer and Jake Gannon. They often say firefighters are just children who never grew up, and that in the best of ways, is true of both Stalzer and Gannon. A native of Long Island, New York, Stalzer is a graduate of the University of New Haven, which opened up the opportunity to apply in West Haven. A medic, the man has a sand trap of a mind, frequently in between dispatches pouring himself into books about the fire service, mainly those touching on truck company operations. When driving 22, he is like a kid in a candy shop, and when observing how in his element he is and the great time he is having in the process, one is reminded of the old adage that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.

Firefighter Gannon is cut from the same cloth. His grandfather was on the job for 25 years in New Haven. A coast guard veteran, Gannon is the Swiss army knife of the B-Shift in a sense. When Firefighter Southworth was recovering from his line of duty knee injury, it was Gannon who held it down at Engine 25, driving the engine in his absence. Trained on our newer Engine 21, he can drive that too, if need be, in addition to manning the usual pipe, hydrant, tail. or roof spots a firefighter will be assigned to on a shift-to-shift basis while also driving Truck 22. Today, the six-year fire service veteran for this particular shift is the roof man in addition to handling medical dispatches on Rescue 51.

C-SHIFT

Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Platoon: C-Shift

Commander: Captain Mike Farrelly

Lieutenants: Joe Wendland, Gerald Barosy, Joe Giaquinto

It is the second day tour for our three newest recruits: Probationary Firefighters Brendan Carew, Clayton Jerzyk, and Dana Lewis. Fresh off their graduation from Class 73 of the Connecticut Fire Academy, they are now in the midst of two weeks of in-house training before they will be assigned to their permanent shifts. A run-down of where everything is, how to use the different equipment we have, and what is expected will be their norm for the next two weeks until those respective assignments come in. It will be a whirlwind but one that will pass with time as their comfort level grows.

Today, their day tour will be with C-Shift. In command of it is Captain Mike Farrelly, an 18-year veteran who has been with our department since October of 2006. A Windsor native, the married father of two has been commander of the third platoon since his promotion to the captain’s rank in May of 2023.

We got everyone from all three districts down at headquarters again. Chief Seaman is back teaching a hazmat class. It is the last one as C-Shift was the only one missing the class. Lieutenant Gerald Barosy is on Engine 25 today. Mike Croker, a native of Ireland, and Joe Mauro, a Coast guard veteran are the pipe and hydrant team. Tim Clark is in his usual spot as 25’s driver. He was a fireman in Washington State for 20 years before coming up to Connecticut.

A 15-year veteran of West Haven, retirement for Mr. Clark beckons. He’s 60 now. In two years, he’s deservedly riding off into the sunset. He’s a character to say the least. Quick and witty, his one-liners never miss their mark, and as a former medic and longtime EMT, his knowledge is something the younger guys and gals doing a tour up at 5’s can and do lean on. He does not mind teaching, so long as you are not a goofball, and you take the job seriously.

HazMat class has concluded. Lunch is up. Today, the crew ordered out. Sandwiches from Provenzano’s, a nearby Italian spot that is popular among all four crews. On the assignment to pick it up is Rescue 27. Lauryn Ouimet and John ‘Nota’ Notarfrancesco are on the bus today. Both medics, Nota as he is affectionately called hails originally from the Westchester, New York area while Lauryn is a Vermont girl who came to Connecticut as a student at the University of New Haven, another of the eight hired under the SAFER Grant. An A-Shifter, Nota is on overtime while Lauryn is on her standard 24-hour tour. As is always the case, 27 is out on the road with a high frequency. Medicals have filled up the morning and assistance by one of the medics with pre-hospital care on the transport following the latest call to New Haven’s St. Raphael’s Hospital means a trek out of district.

Lieutenant Joe Giaquinto is in the front seat of Truck 22. Joining the department in February 2000, truck work is in his blood. He has been in that spot for ages both as a longtime driver of the unit and now as the officer aboard it. Bret Newport is his driver. An intimidating presence at first glance, Bret is your classic gentle giant. A great guy with a lot of knowledge from his years as a volunteer here prior to joining the career side nearly a decade ago, he often is teaching both in the private sector as many do, but within the firehouse too, especially rookies. He is a no-nonsense kind of man who takes his job seriously but not so much so that he cannot joke around when it is appropriate to do so.

There is always lots of laughs with Bret. But as is the case with just about every first responder you meet, when it is time to lock in and perform as called upon, he does and with it, exhibits a calm professionalism that is key at these scenes and has in turn made him a very well respected individual.

Lauryn during a hose drill

Back in the district, lunch is later than usual due to the training. 3PM as a matter of fact. The table is not as full not because the meal is not good (the sandwiches from Provenzano’s are always top notch) but because Engine 21 is out on a call and about as soon as she sat down, Lauryn and Nota are back out on the road again for another medical call. Lunch is quick as Captain Farrelly and Lieutenant Wendland have a hydrant drill prepared for the three new recruits.

Joined by Firefighter Rich Decker, a nine-year veteran of the department and frequently the driver of Engine 21 on C-Shift, the three discuss proper tactics and the scenarios to look for that will dictate how the hydrant will be made depending on the type of fire they may respond to. The information will be a lot to process, but with the combined 33 years of experience Decker, Wendland, and Farrelly possess, it will undoubtedly serve as a good guiding point for the rookies. The drill ends and with that the planned activities for the day. Only on day tours, the rookies head home and the C-Shift remains for the remainder of the tour, ready for any calls that may come in.

A-SHIFT

Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Platoon: A-Shift

Commander: Captain Andy Bennett

Lieutenants: Jon Drost, Brian Sweeney, Shawn Uscilla

Week one of recruit training is fast concluding, in today is A-Shift. The commander is Captain Andy Bennett, a 15-year veteran. He is a medic in addition to being a firefighter. Promoted to Lieutenant in May of 2020, he received the captain’s rank in February of 2024, replacing the since retired Captain Jim McNulty. A well-read man, Captain Bennett is the department’s IT Liaison and has been incredibly helpful in advancing the department forward technologically.

The Lieutenants at headquarters are Jon Drost and Brian Sweeney. Lieutenant Drost is the more senior of the two with 20-years on the job. Arriving to our department in March of 2004, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 2021. Today, he is the officer on Truck 22. Lieutenant Sweeney is a 7-year veteran, and a third-generation fire officer. As mentioned before, his father served 34 years from 1987 through 2021, and his brother is a Lieutenant on the B-Shift.

He is the officer aboard Engine 21 today. To this point in the morning, things have been tame. Only one call thus far and it was for Rescue 27, Deerick Arzola-Torres and Dave Aniolowski are on the bus today. Deerick was sworn in the same night Captain Bennett and Lieutenant Wendland were promoted. Dave, a six-year veteran, is one of five paramedics on A-Shift, and although normally assigned to Engine 25, is for this tour at headquarters on the rescue.

Today, Lieutenant Joe Bruneau is working overtime as an instructor to the recruits as they get the full rundown on each apparatus that soon, each of them will be riding on. Throughout the day, they examine each compartment and tool on Engine 21 first, going through the positions such as pipe and hydrant. The firefighter on “pipe” means the one who will be in charge of the hose line in the event of a fire while the hydrant firefighter is in charge of adequately and rapidly supplying water from the closest hydrant to the attached hose line.

Next up are the rescues, then Truck 22 and an explanation of the roof position along with tail. Aboard the ladder truck in your traditional four-person company, your tail firefighter follows the officer aboard the truck while the roof firefighter heads with the driver of the truck to the roof of the burning structure. At about 6, the day tour for the recruits and with it the Lieutenant’s class. Another day tour in the books. On beckons the night.

D-SHIFT

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024

Platoon: D-Shift

Commander: Captain John Perry

Lieutenants: Adrian Figueroa, Chris DeCrescenzo, Brandon Giannelli

It is not even 9AM yet, and already the day is nuts. Rescue 27 has been dispatched to the Allingtown District for mutual aid for a medical call, while Engine 21, Engine 25, Car 68, have gone mutual aid to the West Shore District for an activated fire alarm in a school. On Car 68 and in command of the early morning chaos of D-Shift is Captain John Perry. A large, imposing presence, Captain Perry has been on the job since 1999. Sworn in on October 1 of that year, the Captain like Lieutenant Bruneau is another connecting link to the current era of the department and its historic past. Serving on the line for 21 years, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 2020, serving as the officer at Engine 25 for three years before his July 2023 promoted to Captain. He is no-nonsense too, and his expectations are simple: work hard and work competently. So long as you do that, he has no qualms. He is a good man to know and work for, and his crew responds well to his straightforward approach to leadership and firefighting.

Under him are Lieutenants Adrian Figueroa and Chris DeCrescenzo. A 19-year veteran, Lt. Figueroa is on Truck 22. A soft-spoken, laid-back man, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever want to meet. Like the Captain, Lt. Figueroa is an excellent fire officer. He expects you to know what you have to do and any crew working under him always does. Unflappable and not one to raise his voice, his manner and demeanor are the same on calls. Calm is contagious after all, and he always exhibits it. His driver is Firefighter Mike Alfano. A 15-year veteran, Mike is a character and a half. Never failing to make you laugh until your sides hurt, the 47-year-old is in his usual spot as 22’s driver on D-Shift.

A longtime EMT in addition to his career as a firefighter, there is virtually nothing that rattles him because there is not much he has not already seen. Still even with all that experience, he is not complacent and the hunger and drive he possessed to get the job to begin with is still driving him now a decade and a half later.

At Engine 25, the officer is Lt. Brandon Giannelli. He is a nine-year veteran and was promoted to Lieutenant last summer. He like Southworth, worked like hell to get back from a line of duty injury and after a seven-month absence, has returned to the front passenger seat of 5’s. Like Figueroa, he is very even keeled as well. Even when flustered with the occasional frustrations the job can present, he is never flustered to the degree that he loses focus, a must have quality in the fire service.

Driving him is Mark Riordan. A gentleman, the 22-year veteran has been on the job since March of 2002. He is the single digits in terms of badge number, badge three to be exact, behind only Mike Southworth and Frank Paine in terms of seniority (not counting the fire officers or marshals). He has been so synonymous with Engine 25 as its regular driver that seeing him anywhere else on the riding list throws one for a loop.

The junior officer on the shift is the aforementioned newly promoted Lieutenant Chris Decrescenzo. A five-year veteran, the 27-year-old husband and father of two, has been in the front seat of Engine 21 for his first few tours as a fire officer. Within the first couple weeks, he had first fire as a Lieutenant, a three alarm at an apartment complex, all in all, things went smoothly. No one was hurt, and a few pets were even rescued.

Whip-smart, his rise has been quick. A medic, he alternated between a variety of assignments prior to promotion. The rescues naturally, but also was an engine driver, driving Engine 21 and Engine 25, the pump operator even, at a structure fire in our district back in December 2023.

Driving the Lieutenant is Brian Elliott. Like Alfano, Elliott too is a 15-year veteran. Also working for an EMS agency in addition to being a firefighter, he is not rattled by much either. The driver’s seat of 21 being his usual spot, it is an Engine he could practically drive in his sleep. He is doing it a lot today. It is not just the call volume; it is also the Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) training for the rookies today. Captain Sebas of the B-Shift is in charge of that along with Captain Perry.

As far as lunch goes, the shift is in for a treat. Mission Barbecue is bringing in lunch for the crew, something they have done repeatedly over the years. A nearby restaurant located in the adjacent town of Orange, CT, their mission is to give back to first responders and several times over the years, they have generously gifted our headquarters a delicious spread. The spread this time? Bread, cornbread, chicken, pork, macaroni and cheese, topped off with lemonade and soda. Maddie Swan, a representative of the restaurant was nice enough to stop by and the crew happily indulges.

EVOC ramps up again after lunch, a few more refreshers follow. And then it is back to HQ. For now, nothing is on the dispatch board (something that will inevitably change at some point). Ultimately, that is the fire service. Yes, the personnel changes from day to day, the call volume too, but the mission and commitment to serve does. There are many different personalities here, some just starting out, others smack dab in the middle of their careers, others nearing retirement. The backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs vary too but in the melting pot that is life as an emergency responder, it all blends together seamlessly. These are the men and women who readily answer the call when needed. This is the West Haven Fire Department.

Mike Colón is the host of the Mic’d In New Haven Podcast which can be found on all podcast platforms and is simulcast in video form on YouTube