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07/25/2017 12:00 AMSeeking to reinstate and fill a position that was eliminated 25 years ago, the Fire Department recently swore in Lieutenant Scott Martus into his new role as deputy chief of operations at a ceremony held at the department headquarters on July 14.
“He’s the right person at the right time for this position,” said Board of Fire Commission Chairman Pat Nuzzolillo.
Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said that Martus will oversee all of the emergency medical service (EMS) response and training for the department. Januszewski is hopeful that the position will help retain volunteers, and that solid training will help to keep them involved to “plug a hole” when it comes to the decreasing number of volunteers.
“The department is in desperate need of this position,” said Januszewski, “We’ve grown substantially, the needs of the town have grown substantially, and he’s going to serve a vital role in preparing us and meet the demands of tomorrow.”
Nuzzolillo said that Martus’s education and training, as well as the fact that he’s a paramedic, speak volumes. Nuzzolillo is thrilled to get the position back in the budget, and said that Januszewski prepared a proposal that would allow the position to pay for itself.
The annual deputy chief salary is $95,000. Januszewski this new position serves two purposes: the first is to provide in-house fire and EMS training, which hasn’t been provided since the position was eliminated in 1991. The second is to oversee EMS billing, specifically when the town’s paramedics provide advanced life support services and assists with transporting to the hospital. Januszewski projects $200,000 to $250,000 in revenue a year.
“The deputy chief of operations will ultimately assist in billing for medical calls that will underwrite his salary and benefits and also add monies to the coffers of the town,” said Nuzzolillo, “So I think it was an innovative, creative way that the chief created in order to obtain this position, and the Board of Finance understood the financial benefits of this role.”
Martus said he felt great and very happy to be sworn in to his new role. He has volunteered for the Fire Department since he was 16 years old, and became an official member of the company at age 18. His family played a role in him wanting to become a firefighter.
“My grandfather was a volunteer fireman in West Ridge in North Haven, where I was a volunteer fireman and my dad was a volunteer fireman,” said Martus, “I became a volunteer fireman and I wanted to make it my career, and then my brother Paul followed after me and became a firefighter in West Haven.”
Januszewski said that while EMS is relatively new to the Fire Department, a high percentage of the call volume comes from senior citizens with health issues, and he wants to ensure that proper operations are in place to deal with those situations.
Martus said that his skills as a paramedic will be beneficial when it comes to overseeing EMS operations. About 60 percent of calls the department receives are for medical response.
Fire Commissioner Peter Criscuolo said the position couldn’t have gone to a better person, saying that he has seen Martus move through the ranks, from when he was first sworn in as a firefighter, to his promotion to lieutenant and now his new role as deputy chief of operations.
“This position will benefit both the town and the Fire Department itself,” said Criscuolo, “We’ll be able to get the training that they so well deserve and bring us into the 21st century.”