This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
07/05/2016 12:00 AMChris Rosa says that he was just doing his job but last week he and several others were honored with the Joseph Buonome Memorial Public Safety Award, which is presented annually by the East Haven Rotary Club. Chris, a firefighter and paramedic, received the award in recognition of a life-saving rescue made in January.
“On one hand it’s strange to be getting an award because I was just doing my job, but it’s nice to be recognized,” says Chris. “The Rotary Club does a great job of recognizing a police officer and firefighter each year.”
In addition to Chris, former police chief Brent Larrabee was also recognized at the awards dinner on June 30, along with Scott Gravino, a firefighter and EMT, who led the rescue with Chris.
“He did a great job and he was the one who located the victim in the bathroom,” says Chris. “ He’s a super firefighter. Scotty found the victim, and I grabbed his upper half and he grabbed his lower half. The rescue was a well-coordinated team effort, and everything went the right way.”
In his 12 years as a firefighter, Chris has been involved in other rescues, though not all of them have ended with such a positive outcome. Chris notes several factors that helped the East Haven Fire Department (EHFD) make the save in January.
Because there was a new hire, there were extra personnel members on the truck supervising, which meant quicker timing getting into the building to knock down the fire. The extra personnel also made it possible for them to be ready to work on the victim as soon as he was brought out of the house.
“The fact we had those extra guys really made a difference because minutes can make a difference,” says Chris. “If it was a minute more, it could’ve been a different outcome. We had off-duty guys outside and they started resuscitating him and he was awake and breathing on the lawn – we found him early enough and got him out early enough that he didn’t suffer any major airway burns.”
Chris didn’t always know he wanted to be a firefighter. After graduating from Hamden High School, he spent eight years in the Air Force working as an air traffic controller. When he got out and moved back to Connecticut, the FAA was on a hiring freeze so he started looking for a job where he could put his skills to use.
He applied to be a 911 operator with the EHFD and scored well on the exam. Chris served as a dispatcher from 1997 to 2004.
“They were looking for someone with communication experience so it was a pretty easy transition for me,” says Chris, who spent a lot of time visiting his grandmother in East Haven growing up. “It also helped that I knew the town and knew the streets.”
While Chris “wasn’t looking for a career” when he took the job, he found himself getting more and more involved as time went on. He became a volunteer with the EHFD, eventually serving as captain of Volunteer Company 1 based out of EHFD headquarters. He also went to EMT school and firefighter school.
In 2004, Chris trained as a paramedic as East Haven launched its first responder paramedic service. He was hired as a full-time firefighter and paramedic after taking the firefighters’ test. While he worked at Station 3 on Route 80 during his first year, the majority of Chris’s career as been spent at headquarters.
“Once I got involved, I knew this was what I wanted to do,” says Chris, whose father was a New Haven police officer for 27 years. “I like the excitement and the unknown –that you never know what you’re going out the door for when the bell goes off. Helping people and making a difference in somebody’s life every day is the big thing, though. Although it’s my job, that’s the ultimate, that’s what you’re here for – to save someone’s life.”
As a firefighter, Chris works three full days on and three full days off. On his days off, Chris spends time with his eight-year-old son, often accompanying him to his Greater New Haven Warriors’ hockey practices, games, and tournaments.
While Chris didn’t play hockey growing up – he played football – he enjoys watching his son play and also loves sports and going to the gym.
“I spend as much time with my son as I can and right now he eats, sleeps, and breathes hockey,” says Chris, whose favorite teams are the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees, and the New York Rangers. “Staying physically active not only keeps us physically sharp, but mentally sharp, too. We see a lot of bad stuff so going to the gym is a way to blow off steam and clear your mind.”
While Chris never set out to become a firefighter, he can’t imagine having another career. Working so closely with his crew, he has formed strong bonds and that bond –plus othe key factors – helped lead to the teamwork that saved a life in January.
“It has to be cohesive, it has to be a team effort, and things have to go right,” says Chris. “Fortunately that day, everything went right. We had enough personnel, everything fell into place, and Scotty and I happened to be in right place at right time.”