Thomas Breen file photo
Asst. Chief Justin McCarthy (left) with Fire Chief John Alston.
Justin McCarthy plans to step down from his post as New Haven’s assistant fire chief in May for a similar job in the suburbs, marking the second retirement this year of a high-ranking city fire department official.
McCarthy, who has served as the New Haven Fire Department’s (NHFD) assistant fire chief of administration since January 2021, announced his planned retirement in a Wednesday letter.
He told the Independent in a follow up phone interview that he will be taking a job as an assistant fire chief in a Fairfield County suburb. He said that his new municipal employer will be taking a final vote on his appointment on Thursday.
“Writing this is extremely difficult for me,” McCarthy wrote in his farewell letter to his New Haven colleagues. “I am retiring in May to pursue a new opportunity and challenge. I love this City and the people I work with. The New Haven Fire Department has been a major part of my life. My closest friends are on this department, people I started not knowing are now the people who I rely on professionally and personally. Thank you all.”
McCarthy cited the injuries and deaths of a number of fellow city firefighters — including Pat Reardon, Jimmy Blakeslee, William McMillian and Ricardo Torres — as always on his mind during his time at the department. In reference to McMillian’s off-duty death and Torres’s on-duty death in 2021 in particular, McCarthy wrote, “Through this tough time, the members of this department made me understand that through the nonsense that always comes up, we all come together when it matters. What was done to honor these men was nothing short of incredible.
“In closing, my heart is in this City and I will always be proud to have been a New Haven Firefighter.”
Asked on Wednesday about why he has decided to leave his New Haven role, McCarthy said, “Opportunity. I take a great deal of pride in the fire service of New Haven. This opportunity arose.” As he went through the process of applying for this suburban assistant fire chief job, he said, “it became more apparent as I moved through the steps that it might be a reality.”
Fire Chief John Alston had nothing but praise for McCarthy when asked for comment for this story. He recalled meeting McCarthy when the latter was a lieutenant with Engine 8. Even then, he was “a great fire officer. Great technical acumen. A good supervisor and a terrific firefighter.”
Alston remembered assigning him to the fire academy right before the start of the pandemic. When Covid hit, “Justin stepped up and took charge of providing equipment and training” not only for the fire department, but for the whole city. “He supervised the decontamination efforts whenever the city had a positive test for Covid,” all while continuing to track expenses and procurement for the fire department, Alston said. “During that time, I came to rely on him and trust his decision-making and his stewardship.”
When an assistant chief job opened up in New Haven, Alston said, he encouraged McCarthy to apply — and was “floored” during his interview. During the many tough days in the department over the past year, “I’ve come to rely on him as not only a friend and a coworker, but also as a confidant.” “During one of the roughest times in our department, when we lost Ricardo Torres, Justin stood up and literally stood by my side and the family and the fire department.” Alston also said that, when his own father passed away last year, he was able to step away from the department for a moment and know with full confidence that he could trust McCarthy to handle its day to day operations.
He added that his one concern after promoting McCarthy was that another town’s fire department would see what a great assistant chief he was and try to snap him up for their own. When this latest job opportunity arose, Alston said, he gave McCarthy his full blessing to pursue it, apply, and grow his skills as a firefighter leader.
McCarthy’s retirement announcement comes less than a month after the retirement of NHFD Assistant Chief of Operations Terrence Rountree, who was promoted to that role in June 2021.
Alston said that he will be interviewing two candidates for that assistant chief of operations job within the next week. “I will move very quickly through that process,” he said.
While most departures are not for positive reasons, it is not the public's business to know all of that. I like the way the NHI reporter handled this story.