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11/22/2017 07:30 AMA former firefighter in North Haven, Martin Carlo, Jr. has helped bring fire safety education to the community and show that firefighters give back to the community.
Martin started as a volunteer firefighter in 1960. He remembers (and has a picture of) the former Center Company No. 1 on Broadway, and a 1950 open cab fire truck that he says had a big steering wheel with no power steering.
“Of course in the winter time, by the time you got to a fire you were frozen; no protection whatsoever,” Martin says.
He joined because a friend of his from down the street joined, and Martin says that his friend ended up resigning, but he stayed and eventually worked his way up to first lieutenant. He had an interest in the job since 1960, but before he became a paid firefighter, he worked at Pratt and Whitney.
Not seeing too much of a future for himself at Pratt and Whitney, Martin decided to become a paid firefighter, and did so in 1968.
“I didn’t even tell my wife that I was taking the test for the fire department,” Martin says.
In talking about the differences in firefighting between then and now, Martin says he used to work a 56-hour week before contracts were negotiated, and that the technology and equipment have changed.
He remembers going to a Volkswagen car fire during his time in the department. The car had a magnesium engine block, and Chief John Rosadini told him not to put water on it, and instead to get a shovel and throw dirt on it.
“I’ll be a son of gun, it put it out. I said ‘thank you Chief!’” Martin says with a laugh.
One of the things he knew the department needed was public relations. He saw an ad from an insurance company advertising “rescue stickers.” He ordered 28,000 of those stickers, and put together a program for elementary schools.
“It went over so well, I had to order another 14,000,” Martin says.
Martin says the goal of the program was to raise fire safety awareness and to let children know about the dangers of fire. He went to schools to give safety talks, and says the program took off and raised the profile of the department in the community.
Martin says even he was surprised at how well the public relations campaign worked. He says it also attracted the attention of the insurance company’s corporate office. Martin says they contacted his chief at the time and selected him as National Firefighter of the Year. He was interviewed and had his photo taken for a few magazines as a result. He still has copies of them.
For 21 years, Martin helped run the food and toy drives for the firefighters. He says he received many awards for that, not that he wanted them, and that also helped put the department in the public eye.
“That was a wonderful tool for everybody to see that the firefighters didn’t just sit, they gave back to the community,” Martin says, “It was a wonderful program.”
On Sundays, Martin buys breakfast foods, including bacon, eggs, and pastries, and he drops them off for the firefighters to cook a big Sunday breakfast. He calls it a bittersweet thing, one that he started doing after his wife Evelyn passed away.
Following the death of his wife, the fire department and every firefighter—along with his two sons Chris, Martin III, and their wives and kids—came through for him and helped him out during what was a difficult time. Nineteen years ago, he started by just bringing bagels, and his Sunday morning shopping list has grown since that time.
“I’m a little bit selfish in that too, because I like to eat, and they love to cook,” Martin says, “It’s a known fact some of the best cooks and chefs are firefighters, and they do a super job.”
He says there’s enough for even off-duty firefighters who might want to stop by, and his son Martin III, a North Haven firefighter, is there many of the Sundays. It’s his way of giving back to those that helped him.
“It’s a type of camaraderie and brotherhood that you can’t buy,” Martin says, “It’s there, it’s genuine; I’ve never met a more caring bunch of guys.”
Not only wanting to give back to the community, he also wanted to give back to his church and to God. Since 2013, he’s been a Eucharistic Minister for Church of the Resurrection in Wallingford.
He serves mass Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. assisting the priests, preparing the altar for the service, administering communion, and leading the morning procession. He said it’s become an important part of his life, and through all of it, his family has been very supportive.
In addition to all of that, he’s also vice president of New Haven County Fire Emergency Plan, an ongoing education organization for career and volunteer firefighters that meets once per month at different firehouses to discuss topics like fire safety, health concerns, and mutual aid. He’s also the chairman of the Sunshine Committee that sends greeting, get well, or sympathy cards to its members.
In North Haven, he volunteers to take photographs for the fire department, for example if someone gets promoted. An associate member of Northeast Company 4, he also goes to meetings, helps out when he can, and brings snacks. Martin will even give a blessing for downed firefighters who have passed away, and will even bless the food if there’s something to eat.
“That’s something else for me to do with them, and I enjoy that,” Martin says.