Fire Department promotes three new leaders
The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department held a swearing-in ceremony last week for three members who are moving up the ladder.
Brad Hartman and Todd Williamson were promoted to the position of lieutenant, and Vincent DeChristofalo was made assistant chief of training, education, and safety.
“The lieutenant and the captain are some of the most difficult roles in the fire service… they lead our crews into battle,” said Chief Matt Love.
He explained that lieutenants live and work with their crews 24/7, making them a valuable asset to the department.
“We look at our lieutenants as our leaders on the inside,” Love said.
Brad’s father, Lieutenant Hartman, was brought up to pin his badge, and Captain Joe Reed pinned Williamson’s.
Love explained that DeChristofalo started with the department in January and has hit the ground running.
“Vinnie comes to us with a substantial background in the fire service… and I can’t say enough about how lucky we are,” he said.
Past and present officers were invited to stand behind the newly-promoted leaders while Love pinned a bugle onto their collars, a symbol of rank that refers to a time in firefighting history when a bugle was used on the scene by the commanding officer to project his orders to the crew.
Love said they like to use the analogy of the bugle to convey the way leaders project the chief’s leadership throughout the organization.
“The fire chief takes the bugle off his collar and puts it on the collar of all of these officers…so they can go out there and fulfill our mission,” Love said.
“We are only as good as our leaders.”
After the ceremony, Love briefed the commissioners on department updates since their last meeting in early January.
They’ve updated their gear and joined a weekly rotation for a county-wide incident management team to deploy for major incidents.
Love said they haven’t been part of this team for several years, but were able to join again due to having more qualified staff.
He shared statistics regarding the types of emergency incidents the department found upon arrival to their 319 calls in January, with 76 percent being emergency medical services, 13 percent service or what they call “good intent” calls, 9 percent fire, and 2 percent for hazardous conditions.
He also reported that Engine 30 was donated to the Hosford-Telogia Volunteer Fire Department in the Florida panhandle to help them continue to provide services after damage caused by Hurricane Michael.
As for the department’s search for a new location for Station 31, Love told the commissioners that the search continues, as they work with brokers to assess property.