Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Chief Gary Merwede opened the ceremony, noting the significance of today's date, "Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to remember and acknowledge more than 160,000 allied troops who landed along a 50 mile stretch of heavily fortified French coastline on this day in 1944.  On that day Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower declared the United States would accept nothing less than victory against Nazi Germany.

 

"More than 9,000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice ultimately allowed for the beginning of the end of World War II.  With Memorial Day so fresh in our minds, I would ask all assembled for a moment of silence in acknowledgement of D-Day and its significance in world history."

In remarks before the group, Chief Merwede noted the recent unprecedented number of officer retirements and resulting promotions that "will forify the department's leadership team and make way for new recruits to enter our ranks . . ."  He then acknowledged with thanks the Garrett Administration for their support, the Legislative Council for its departmental funding, and the Hamden Fire Commission for "keeping a tight schedule to meeting the supervisory and staffing needs of the department."

 

Mayor Lauren Garrett congratulated the new company officers and wished them luck in their new roles.

With 26 years on the job Lieut. Paczowski had already earned the distinction of holding firefighter Badge No. 1, signifying his position as the most senior firefighter on the department.  He now surrenders Badge No. 1 for the single trumpet that signifies his new rank and responsibilities as a company officer.  He also brings a wealth of experience as a paramedic at emergency scenes.

 

Lieut. Paczowski graduated on the Dean's List in 1991 from the Mohegan Community College Paramedic program and is certified to operate all department apparatus.  In addition, he is certified as a Fire Officer and Fire Instructor and has completed many of the FEMA modules for Incident Command Structure.

Lieut. Schaffer has served 14 years, 11 of them as a paramedic.  He has demonstrated leadership skills necessary to lead a fire company.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Connecticut, and has completed the Fire Officer program through Fire Officer IV as well as the Fire Instructor program through Fire Instructor III.  He also holds code enforcement and fire investigation credentials through the National Fire Academy.

 

Concluding his remarks Chief Merwede noted, "Both Lieut. Schaffer and Lieut. Paczowski will be making the difficult transition from 'buddy' to 'boss' and will remain in their current station assignments at Station 5."  Lieut. Schaffer will be assigned to Platoon 2, and Lieut. Paczowski to Platoon 4.

Hamden Town Clerk Karimah Mickens congraulated Lieutenants Schaffer and Paczowski following the oath, at which time each man had his badge pinned by a member of his family.

The final part of every swearing-in is the pinning of the new badge.