By Anjali Kishore
Last Friday, the Greenwich Fire Department’s Station 1 ceremoniously welcomed three new firefighters into its ranks, as well as a newly minted Lieutenant, Lt. Nate Schulde. The three new members of the Station — Firefighters Anthony Ryan, Roger Clapp, and John Valentini — were a part of the Connecticut Fire Academy’s 66th recruitment class, officially graduating in May of 2020. The pandemic derailed the firefighters’ graduation and swearing-in (though as Fire Chief Joseph McHugh explained, the men have already been active in their new positions since their graduation last year) but the four men were, at long last, able to celebrate their accomplishments in a ceremony open to family and fellow firefighters. First Selectman Fred Camillo administered the swearing-in as Fire Chief McHugh delivered remarks. Also in attendance was Selectwoman Jill Oberlander and Chief of Police James Heavey, as well as many levels of internal leadership and union representation.
One of the key features of a swearing-in is the badge pinning, in which a member of the firefighter’s family affixes the new pin to their uniform for the first time. Chief McHugh mentioned the badge pinning as a “great opportunity for the guys and their families”, and the importance of the families being able to interact with other firefighters and their own families. This social aspect was a huge part that the department missed out on last year due to the pandemic, but it was clearly back in full swing this year, with firefighters enjoying a customized cake and refreshments, mingling with other members of the department, and being able to administer a full honor guard procession at the beginning and conclusion of Friday’s proceedings. As Fred Camilo mentioned during the swearings-in, “this is very symbolic as we swore in these three men last year at the beginning of the pandemic…”, going on to state that the Fire Department hosting a traditional ceremony is an encouraging sign that the community is emerging from pandemic life.
Lieutenant Nate Schulde, the first to be sworn-in to his new position, embodies core values of Greenwich’s Fire Department: dedication to family, leadership, and community service. Schulde had in attendance his parents and his wife, Amber, as well as their two children. An Eagle Scout, he began as an explorer at age 16, working his way up in the ranks of the Waterbury Fire Department for eleven and a half years before “find[ing] a second career firefighter family with Greenwich Fire”, in 2007. In his past fourteen years with the Department, Lt. Schulde has taken part in the health and safety committee, the thermal imaging committee, the bail-out kit committee, and the contract committee, and his contributions to Greenwich Fire were recognized in the promotion ceremony. He also took on a leadership role as one of the union’s e-board members. Carrying on a tradition of service and leadership, Schulde is active in his son’s Boy Scout Troop in Bantam, CT. Chief McHugh summed it up, saying “Nate Schulde is a great guy, and we’re happy to have him. He’s going to be a wonderful officer for this fire department and we look forward to him starting.”
Anthony Ryan, a graduate of this past year’s academy class, grew up watching his father work as a firefighter. Tony Ryan, a career firefighter of three decades, was in the audience on Friday, along with his daughter (Anthony’s sister) Emma, Anthony’s mother Linda, and Linda’s boyfriend Lou Volpe. Mr. Ryan exuded pride when asked about his son’s accomplishment: “I think it’s great. My son’s watched me for 30 years as he grew up and I was working, and now he’s stepped into the shoes. He’ll have a nice 30-year career ahead.” Though it’s clear that his father’s sense of duty influenced Ryan in the long run, he took a less direct path to the force, graduating from Western Connecticut State University with two degrees and working in commercial construction before turning towards a service-oriented career. From there, Ryan served as a combat medic and sergeant in the U.S. National Guard before attending the academy. Firefighter Anthony Ryan has been assigned to E4 on Group 3 at Greenwich Fire.
Another Western Connecticut State University alum joined the force Friday in Roger Clapp, an ex-correction officer who began as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Deep River, CT, at the age of 16. The ceremony was attended by Clapp’s girlfriend Molly and sister Stephanie and her boyfriend Ricky. After the first ceremony, where the whole family had to crowd around one computer screen to watch over Zoom, they did not take for granted their chance to watch Clapp get sworn-in in person. “He’s been working towards it for so long, so to be able to actually see it in person and not on a computer screen…I’m happy for him and it’s awesome to see it”, said sister Stephanie. Despite a brief career as a correction officer, firefighting has always been a “dream job” for Clapp, who has already been serving in position E5, Group 2 since last year.
John Valentini, a Cromwell, CT resident, took a similarly long route to firefighting: after four years at Xavier High School as a student athlete in both football and wrestling, Valentini earned a bachelor’s degree from UConn and began to work in sales for Spartan Fire Apparatus, a company that supplies fire departments with equipment. In 2017, Valentini began as a volunteer in the Cromwell Fire Department, advancing in the department to become a career firefighter shortly afterwards. He worked in Cromwell for two years before getting assigned to Greenwich Fire Department. The ceremony was attended by Giovanni Valentini, Firefighter Valentini’s father, who got the chance to pin his son’s badge on for the first time. John Valentini began working in 2020 and is currently part of Group 1 at GFD.
