Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

First Semi-Annual Swearing-in Ceremony

Friday, December 13, 2024

Establishing a new tradition, Chief Jeff Naples announced that all swearing-in ceremonies will be conducted semi-annually. The first such ceremony was held in the Council Chambers of Hamden's Memorial Town Hall before a crowd of active and rertired department members, as well as many family members and friends of the inductees.

Recruit Firefighters Foster, Le, Schultes, Lt. Mordecai, Chief Naples, Asst. Chief Carter, Mayor Garrett and Town Clerk Mickens - CLICK to enlarge

Welcoming Remarks from Chief Jeff Naples

Good morning and welcome to today’s first ever semi-annual fire department swearing-in ceremony. I would like to recognize Mayor Garrett, her staff, Town Clerk Mrs. Mickens, members of our Legislative Council, and members of our Fire Commission.

Over the past two years there has been tremendous growth within the Hamden Fire Department. With the help of the Personnel Department, Civil Service and the Fire Commission we have promoted 8 Lieutenants, 1 Captain, 1 Battalion Chief, and 11 new firefighters. This has brought new leadership with creative, enthusiastic and educated ideas that inspires others to follow and motivate positive culture. All our new firefighters have come with the excitement to learn, serve, and develop within our department while giving back to our community.

There is no end in sight to the future potential for promotions and onboarding new employees. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and grow, to better our service, sharpen our skills and remain safe in our operations. We have decided to condense our swearing-ins to two times a year, coinciding with the recruit graduations from the Connecticut Fire Academy. This is in hopes to increase the attendance understanding everyone’s busy schedules as it truly recognizes the significance of our profession and the commitment we make to the citizens of Hamden.

Town Clerk Kamarah Mickens administered the oath to Lt. Michael Mordecai, and recruits Foster, Le, and Schultes - CLICK to enlarge

Lt. Mordecai

On the evening of October 16th, the Fire Commission appointed Michael Mordecai to the position of Lieutenant. Mike has been working in this role since that time and has been more than ready to take on this leadership position.

Mike joined the Hamden Fire Department in 2011 after serving as a Firefighter Paramedic for the City of West Haven. Mike has always had a passion for the fire service and EMS as it is in his blood. Mikes family is deeply rooted in community service as his grandfather worked with the New Haven Police Department for over 30 years, his father, Jack Mordecai, and uncle Bob Mordecai, are both retired firefighters and officers of the Hamden Fire Department, both serving over 25 years. Mike's uncle, Bob Freeman, is the past Deputy Chief of the West Haven Fire Department and our current Director of Hamden’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Lt. Jack Mordecai (Ret), Lt. Mike Mordecai, Lieut. Bob Mordecai (Ret. - Presently a Fire Commissioner)

Chief Naples' remarks on Lt. Mordecai

When speaking with Mike he doesn’t always share these things as his humility always trumps his accolades, accomplishments, and true dedication to the fire service. So now I have the chance to share a few things about Mike with you, some that I just learned as well during his interview process and reading his resume.

I will start back a few Connecticut Fire Academy Recruit Class ago #45, where his instructors notice something special in him, his commitment to hard work, determination and grit. With this he was awarded the Michael C. Reily “Hard Charger” award in recognition of the qualities that Michael embodied as a firefighter and a person.

Mike has worked as a Firefighter Paramedic for the Town of Hamden for over 10 years, well beyond his contractual commitment. He enjoyed his advanced live support skills so much that he obtained his EMS-I license and Paramedic Field Instructor (PFI) certification to help teach and lead future paramedics. He was recognized by Yale New Haven Sponsor Hospital with the Charles Esposito Award for his outstanding efforts in EMS.

Mike was stationed for those 10 years at Station 2, where he experienced the highest call volume across our department. Mike mentored many firefighter paramedics in both EMS, fire operations, apparatus, equipment, and pump qualification, always leading by example. Through all of that Mike never once complained, remained dedicated to his crew and the service and mission of our department.

Most recently, Mike took on one of his most passionate projects working directly with Captain Wood to implement our first ever Active Shooter and Hostile Response ASHER plan. They worked diligently following the new NFPA 3000 guidelines to ensure that the Hamden Fire Department would be not only prepared, but safely equip and trained to respond to any threat with our partners in law enforcement.

I cannot express the importance of this project as prior to this we had no means to assist law enforcement in a hostile situation when victims were suffering. Now with this program we can safely and efficiently operate in tandem with law enforcement to treat, triage, and extricate victims in these hostile environments. Both Lieutenant Mordecai and Captain Wood, build this program from the ground up, leading the training and education our members utilize today.

Mike continues to further educate himself on all areas of the fire service to better lead his crew and assist the department in moving forward. He just got back from a Large Area Search training class in Vermont and thankfully to the warmer temperatures was able to make it back for his swearing in today. Mike will utilize this training to develop our Large Area Search Standard Operating Guideline. We truly appreciate his dedication to our department and his proactive approach to continued learning and leadership.

Lieutenant Mordecai has been awarded multiple letters of commendation and life saves over his career and continues to motivate, mentor, and lead members of our department. Mike is back at Station 2 leading the members of Engine 2 and Rescue 2 on the 1st Platoon under the direction of Battalion Chief Barletta. His leadership does not stop here in the Hamden Fire Department, but it carries over to his family, as the father of three young men, a coach and a motivational speaker in his community. We are grateful for his service to our department and look forward to his continued growth here in Hamden.

Congratulations Lieutenant Mordecai!

Back in August the Fire Commission appointed three new entry level Firefighter Paramedics to join the Hamden Fire Department, Jonathan Shultes, Andy Le, and Alex Foster. They successfully completed the Connecticut Fire Academy’s 14-week recruit Class and graduated last Friday. They are currently finishing their last week of on-boarding with Captain Lopes in the Training Division.

Recruit Firefighters Foster and Le, Captain/Training Officer Julio Lopes, and Recruit Firefighter Schultes - CLICK to enlarge

Chief Naples' remarks on the three new recruits

Schultes

Jonathan Shultes brings a wealth of experience to our department, originally hailing from the state of Michigan and having graduated from Michigan State University (Mayor Garrett’s rival) with a bachelor's degree in construction management. Building construction is one of the most critical factors of our profession as it presents a major threat while exposed to fire. Having a solid understanding of the structures we enter and their reaction to fire is essential to keep us safe.

I know Jonathan will be a tremendous resource to our department not only with his degree but also his experience working as a project engineer with Marlow Construction. Jonathan volunteered in both Michigan at the Northville City Fire Department and here in Connecticut with the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department in Middletown.

While volunteering he obtained his Commercial Driver’s License and has operated multiple fire apparatus. Jonathan recognized that EMS is the backbone of today’s fire service and began working as an EMT at the New Hartford Ambulance Service and AMR in Waterbury. He then continued his education in EMS to obtain his certification as a licensed paramedic gaining experience at AMR in the field. Jonathan will be assigned to Station 2 on the 1st Platoon working under the direction of Lieutenant Mordecai and Battalion Chief Barletta.

Le

Both Andy Le and Alex Foster join our department as active service members of our Army National Guard. I would like to take a moment to thank them and all our active members and veterans for their service to our Country.

Andy Le joins the department with a solid foundation of EMS and Leadership. He has been promoted to 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard serving as a Medical logistical Officer and Platoon Leader. He has extensive experience working as a combat medic specialist and has also carried that over locally working with AMR in Hartford as an EMT. Andy obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut where he entered into the ROTC program. We are excited as Andy is the departments first translator in Vietnamese, helping bridge the gap in communication to the community we serve. Andy will be joining the 4th Platoon under the command of Lieutenant Gagnon.

Foster

Alex Foster also comes to Hamden with a wealth of leadership and experience currently operating as a Platoon Sergeant in the Army National Guard. Alex was recently chosen by his classmates to be the Platoon Leader of Recruit Class 74. This was a tremendous reflection of his character, leadership, and work ethic, while representing the Hamden Fire Department amongst recruits from multiple departments across the state.

Alex started his public service locally working as a police officer for the City of Middletown. He quickly found his calling in the EMS and fire service while obtaining his paramedic license and working for Atna Ambulance. We are excited to have Alex’s experience in law enforcement, military, and EMS as he works as a firefighter paramedic for the Hamden Fire Department.

Alex will be assigned to the 3rd Platoon under the command of Lieutenant Brennan and Battalion Chief Barletta.

Congratulations to you all and welcome aboard!