Allan Appel Photo
Marcano, Ewing Monday at commissioners meeting.
They met as ninth graders at the Sound School and became best buddies.
Monday morning, one became the fire department’s new assistant chief for administration, the other a battalion commander.
That was the back story to the official swearing in of Battalion Chief Orlando Marcano to assistant chief of administration. That’s the second-highest rank in the department, the official in charge of administration and finance, who steps into command if the chief is unavailable.
The number-three job, assistant chief for operations, was recently filled by former Battalion Chief Mark Vendetto
As boys growing up without dads in the house, Marcano and Capt. Tyrone Ewing, another firefighter promoted Monday, found the same father figure in a tough but inspirational teacher who put them on the right track. They entered the fire academy and graduated together and have both been serving for 23 years.
Marcano flanked by daughters Hannah and Hadassah and his wife Lillian.
Marcano’s swearing-in took place at the regular July meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners, which accepted the recommendations of Fire Chief John Alston, Jr to make a new round of promotions.
After the unanimous vote, Marcano was sworn in by Assistant Corporation Counsel Audrey Kramer.
The commissioners also accepted the recommendation of the chief to promote Ewing, Marcano’s high school friend and the godfather of his children, to the rank of battalion chief.
Ewing’s swearing in, along with those of Capt. Felipe Cordero to battalion chief and Lts. Venson Taylor and Joseph Hilbert to captain, were scheduled to take place later in the morning at the fire academy on Ella Grasso Boulevard.
With these promotions, all the higher ranks of the department are now filled except for one vacancy as deputy chief, said Marcano, who now serves as the go-between between the chief and rank and file.
“You’ve got the harder job than I do,” said Chief Alston after the commissioners approved the recommendation. “You’re the buffer to the troops. Where’s your family? I apologize [in advance for frequent all-hours calls]. It’s going to be, ‘Hey, Woody, I need you!”
“Woody” is Marcano’s nickname, which he said he bore for years when he had lots of hair. Well, more than he has now.
Chief Alston has moved to fill upper ranks in order to reduce the need for expensive overtime since his arrival on the job six months ago.
Ewing with wife Anna and daughters Mackenzieand Piage, who recently took the fire service test.
“The chief is doing a great job reducing overtime. This is a perfect example,” said Hill Alder David Reyes, who sits on the aldermanic finance committee and pinned the official assistant chief badge on Marcano after the swearing in.
Marcano, who’s 45, came to New Haven as a kid in 1974. He grew up in the West River neighborhood and continues to live with his family in the Annex. “I choose to live in the city and to die here as an old man,” he said after the ceremony.
“Our city is a microcosm of what a city should be. Where else can a kid without a father, and with a mother with a heart of gold but an iron fist, one of five boys, grow up to be an assistant chief in the fire department?”
He characterized his new job as implementing the vision and plans of the chief, to inspire, to motivate others, prepare them for the higher ranks, and leave the department better than he found it.
The battalion chief position Marcano is vacating — the last of eight battalion chief spots — will be filled by his buddy Tyrone Ewing. “I opened up the spot he’s grabbing,” said Marcano.
Fire Chief Alston proposing the promotions to fire commissioners.
These two firefighters seem to be a living a life in tandem. Ewing, who was accompanied by his wife Anna and daughters Paige and Mackenzie, attributed successes in significant measure to Jeff Alpert, a teacher at the Sound School who put them on the right track.
“He was the biggest inspiration,” said Ewing. “To continue on in education, and to hold us in check. He was a father figure for those of us who didn’t have fathers. Every time we tried to skip school, he’d get us back. We didn’t like it, but I’m grateful.”
“It’s very good for the fire department to see folks who have dedicated their lives to the city advance from within,” said Annex Alder and State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr., who was among the officials attending the ceremony.
"It's very good for the fire department to see folks who have dedicated their lives to the city advance from within," said Annex Alder and State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr., who was among the officials attending the ceremony.
Be careful of those who speak with forked tongue.