Fire Department Appoints New Chief

By Michael Dibiaso
Published on 3/4/2005

Mayor Joseph Maturo announced last week the appointment of former Battalion Chief Douglas F. Jackson to the vacated position of Chief of the East Haven Fire Department. Jackson, a 21 year veteran of the department, is filling the position that William Sandford left weeks ago to take a position with the state. "He is a good man," said Maturo of Jackson. "I worked with him as a firefighter and he is a good firefighter and a good man. I know that he will work well for the town." Jackson comes from a family with a tradition of firefighting. His father William B. Jackson was a former fire marshal in town. The new chief joined the East Haven Fire Department in March 1984 after a seven-year stint as a volunteer member of the Riverside Volunteer Fire Department. He received his EMT certification in 1988 and since then has continued to train and take courses in firefighting and fire investigation. In 1992 he was named a Battalion Chief for the department. As battalion chief, Jackson was responsible for leading one of the town's four crews of firefighters, including actively fighting fires and hiring new members. In 1993 Jackson received his fire marshals certification and has been assisting as a fire inspector since 1996. Additionally Jackson earned an associate's degree in science fire technology and administration from Naugutuck Valley Community Technical College in 1999. He is a resident of East Haven along with his wife Diane and two children Lauren, 9, and Isabella, 1. Maturo had been conducting a search for a new chief since William Sandford gave up the position several weeks ago to take the job of Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The search was performed internally among the department's firefighters. According to Maturo, he received resumes from and conducted interviews with three members of the department before settling on Jackson. Maturo, a former firefighter in town, was actually a veteran on Jackson's crew when Jackson was a rookie in the department. Sandford's tenure as chief was most noted for the variety of programs that he instituted to, such as the reverse 9-11 system and a number of measures to protect the town against flooding. Jackson asserted that he would like to continue with the programs that are already in place, but also bring a renewed focus to actual firefighting and keeping the town's residents safe. "The previous chief had started a lot of programs. There are a lot of good things going on now that I want to keep moving on," said Jackson. "I would also like to get back to basics for a while. I would like to get back to some old-fashioned discipline around the firehouse." Jackson noted that he would like to see a renewed level of training in the department and an increased effort towards the maintenance of equipment and the department in general. There is a tradition in firefighting, which he would like to bring back. "The older guys had a way of doing things. You washed the windows on one day, you cleaned the trucks on another. It was a disciplined way of doing things that I would like to see a little more," said Jackson. "We really have a very good department here. We get a lot done with not that many people. The guys do a great job of aggressively fighting fires and that is going to continue." Jackson was officially sworn in by the mayor late in February; additionally there was a short public swearing-in ceremony on March 1 at Fire Department Headquarters.