Norwalk fire official promoted
By JILL BODACH
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK -- After 29 years on the job, Laurence Reilly will finally see what it's like to have nights and weekends off.
At Wednesday's Fire Commission meeting, Reilly was promoted from deputy chief to assistant chief, filling a position vacated in April when Sanford Anderson was promoted to chief.
Reilly will officially take over as assistant chief on Sept. 20. It is a four-year contract.
Reilly joined the department in 1975, was promoted to lieutenant in 1982, captain in 1986 and deputy chief in 1991. Reilly has been assigned to stations 1, 2, 3 and 5 during his career and, most recently, to Station 2, Platoon 2 as shift commander.
Reilly, who has spent his entire career hopping in and out of engines, ladder trucks and rescue cars and responding to fires day and night, said that he won't miss the hectic activity of an "on the line" firefighter. Well, at least he won't miss it too much.
"I've been doing this long enough that I won't miss going on the calls all that much," Reilly, 52, said. "I will still be responsible for assuming command at major fires but that won't be an everyday basis sort of thing." His experience will be a benefit to him as he works to help the department improve its efficiency.
"I've been part of so much of what we do here that I've had the opportunity to see things that could be changed from a perspective of being a part of it," Reilly said.
In addition, Reilly will also be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the fire department, particularly those of its firefighters.
"I'm going to be doing a lot in regards to how we are going to implement our training agenda and Incident Command System," Reilly said.
For Fire Chief Sanford Anderson, Reilly will be a major support to his efforts to improve department performance.
"I'm so glad to have an assistant chief and I am confident that Larry will do a great job for this department," Anderson said.
Mayor Alex Knopp said that the respect the firefighters have for Reilly was evident in his discussions with Anderson and the department's union president Martin O'Marra.
"You were the only person Chief Anderson recommended when we began discussing this because he was so confident that you'd do a great job and because you are held in such high regard by the rest of the department," Knopp said.
Due to the vacancy left by Reilly's promotion, the fire commission voted to promote the next in line for the deputy chief and captain's position. William Perkins will take over as deputy chief and Chris King will be promoted to captain. Before a promotion to lieutenant can be made a new test has to be given because the old list has expired.
The commission also voted to hire two new firefighters now and as many as one more in the coming weeks to keep the department's vacancy at eight.The Hour
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