Acting Fire Chief Leaves; Regrets ​“Political Witch Hunt”

Acting Chief Matt Marcarelli had hoped to wait until a new chief took over New Haven’s fire department before he retired, but he was left out of the loop.

Marcarelli, a a 22-year veteran of the department, put in for retirement this week. He has served as acting chief since July 8 while the city has looked for a replacement for the previous acting chief, Ralph Black.

Marcarelli worked his last day Thursday. That was the same day Mayor Toni Harp’s choice for the permanent chief position, John Alston Jr., came to town for a confirmation hearing and City Hall press conference. The department is now leaderless.

Marcarelli said he is taking a new job with the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington.

“I got the job offer a while ago,” he told the Independent. ​“I had hoped the new chief would be here before I left, but despite him being in town several times, I’ve never heard from him. I didn’t even know of the press conference today.”

He decried ​“a political witch hunt” that prevented him from ​“enjoying more years” working with people like former Assistant Chief Pat Egan, Chief Michael Grant, and Acting Chief Black: ​“We accomplished great things together.” Marcarelli also praised City Engineer Giovanni Zinn (“an excellent asset to the city”), with whom he worked on rehabbing the fire station; and city Chief Administrative Officer Mike Carter. He called Carter ​“great to work with. He’s had a guidance presence in the FD, but I feel his opinion on many matters fall son deaf ears. It’s unfortunate, because he’s a strong leader.”

“It really boiled down to a business decision,” Marcarelli said of the decision to leave. He expects to complete his master’s degree in the next month. He also looks forward to spending more time with his family after having ​“been doing the job of two or three people for a while.”

“I’ll miss the job,” Marcarelli reflected. ​“It was part of my life for 22 years. I’m just going to do it elsewhere.

“The best jobs I had on the fire department were as a lieutenant and captain, where I served with some great guys and we went to lots of fires.

“Being a company officer is the best job on the fire department. I feel I made a lasting impact on the department. One of the highlights was carrying out Chief Grant and Egan’s directive to work toward an ISO class 1 rating, which designates superior fire protection. That project took six years to complete.”

Another high point: ​“The hiring of nearly 130 new firefighters and promotions in all ranks, again, many years in the making. I’ve had a direct impact as far as training or promotions on virtually every member of the department, and most of them are very good folks. I made quite a few other operational improvements, but most of my changes were merely putting an action plan together based on some of the ideas from the rank and file. Much of what I accomplished was started under Chief Grant, Egan and Black. It’s not uncommon for plans a chief lays out to not come to fruition until after they’re gone.”