By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
July 2, 2005
Two days ago, Daniel Warzoha retired from his job as Greenwich fire chief. Yesterday, though, he didn't break stride, stopping by Greenwich High School to help out with safety inspections for today's July 4 events.
After 36 years of serving the town, it's hard to stop.
"While automatic (fire) alarms won't be a priority for me, I'm by no means walking away from this thing," Warzoha, 53, said as he sat inside the special operations truck he designed and answered a question about equipment for a firefighter.
Following his 61Ž2 year tenure as chief of the Greenwich Fire Department, the Glenville native will assume the post of emergency operations management coordinator, overseeing the town's preparation for disasters.
This should ease the transition to "retirement," given Warzoha's many years of service.
He joined the Glenville Volunteer Fire Department in 1969 as a teen, and stayed there for 30 years, rising to the level of chief in 1986. He also served as a utility worker for the town's public works department from 1973 -- when his starting salary was $7,300 a year -- to 1999.
He only left those jobs when he was promoted to Greenwich Fire Chief in 1999.
Warzoha said he found his public works service as rewarding as his time with the fire department, in particular his role guiding the town's $56 million overhaul of the Grass Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.
"When you've been in this thing for more than 30 years you've got to know that you've done something," Warzoha said. "There were things that would never have gotten to where they were if they hadn't been prodded the right way."
Warzoha said taking charge of the town's disaster response system is well matched to his growing involvement with state and federal authorities to prepare for future terrorist attacks.
More than any personal accomplishment or task, Warzoha said directing his department's reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks drove him to get involved more widely in security efforts.
"Watching the North Tower collapse and then the dead silence on the FDNY radio. . ." Warzoha said. "We had talked about something happening but we had never thought in those terms."
The experience spurred him to accept an appointment as a regional emergency coordinator for the state, an unpaid position in which he is responsible for planning the deployment of Fairfield and Litchfield County fire personnel in the event of a major disaster.
Also in response to the attacks, Warzoha spent hundreds of hours designing the town's special operations truck, a mobile command center and hazardous materials response truck equipped with computers and satellite technology.
"This truck wouldn't exist if not for Sept. 11," Warzoha said. "That's the entire reason."
Paul Chiappetta, who recently retired as chief of the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department said he was happy Warzoha would remain involved with emergency planning.
Chiappetta said Warzoha was an adept ally who helped him and other chiefs obtain new equipment and training. Warzoha helped convince town finance officials that spending money so Sound Beach could offer specialized rescue training and equipment was a good investment.
"Through his knowledge and background and some creative financing he helped us get things done," Chiappetta said. "He had a vision for the department as far as equipment and training goes and made a big difference in the programs we had."
Chiappetta said Warzoha's knowledge of the department and the town's history made the chief an entertaining storyteller.
"He can tell some great stories and has an uncanny ability to remember things that happened in the fire service," Chiappetta said. "Chief Warzoha was always jovial and upbeat but when it came time to get the job done there was a great chain of command."
Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said he admires Warzoha's work in recent years on the state's efforts to comply with national standards laid out by homeland security officials.
McCarthy said through the Fairfield County's Fire Chiefs Association he has seen that Warzoha understands the importance of coordinating responses with other departments in the county.
"I don't know where all his energy comes from," McCarthy said. "There is rarely a meeting or discussion that goes by that Dan is not giving his learned opinion and helping find a solution. It appears he spends every waking hour serving the town of Greenwich and the state of Connecticut."
State Fire Administrator Jeff Morrissette at the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks said Warzoha has worked hard to contribute both through committees and singly to put together the state's Fire Rescue Disaster Response Plan, and recently working with others to design 34 specially made tow trucks for hauling decontamination trailers.
"Obviously he sees the big picture and he's been willing to get active beyond the local level and active on a regional level," Morrissette said. "He sees that his personnel who are involved in these efforts also avail themselves of greater levels of training, which benefits the town."
Warzoha said he has tried to adhere to an approach of helping others throughout his career.
"There's basic Judeo-Christian values of helping others and playing nice in the sandbox," Warzoha said. "The people we've been able to help, some of them less fortunate than others stay with you forever."
Warzoha's retirement comes after a difficult year and a half in which the local fire union asked the town to investigate whether Warzoha was impaired by alcohol while in command at a Dec. 5, 2003, fire that left three firefighters seriously injured. The union also called for his resignation. He was eventually exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Warzoha said that he still loves the department.
"The thing about loving the department is that you are loving something that can never love you back," Warzoha said. "But I loved the people and the camaraderie through the good and bad days."
Copyright © 2005, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.