When Fire Chief Matthew Marcarelli was sworn in on April 20, the East Haven Fire Department faced a number of vacancies due to injuries and retirements, and had recently lost two firefighters to other departments. Three new firefighters were appointed last month to help fill those vacancies.

“Essentially, we were down a number of firefighters, so it was imperative...that we undertake a recruitment effort as soon as possible...to relieve the burden of some of the overtime, as well as the burden of the workload on the remaining personnel in the department,” Marcarelli said.

The three new firefighters are also paramedics. Marcarelli said the department runs a successful paramedic service he believes is a valued service to the town.

Marcarelli said the department needs to have a ready supply of paramedics, and that hiring those that are already paramedic certified can save money.

Training an existing firefighter to become a paramedic is costly.

Marcarelli said overtime costs paid to the firefighter going to paramedic school “would approach $70,000, and that doesn’t include the cost of replacing him if he or she was on-duty at the firehouse,” said Marcarelli. “So it’s definitely beneficial to us to hire people that are already certified.”

Marcarelli said that the department has hired seven people overall since he started. There are still currently four vacancies in the department, and Marcarelli said that right now, the department could only afford to hire the three.

Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., said the department usually does keep some vacancies, saying that it’s actually cheaper for the town to pay overtime than have a full complement, which would add to the cost of benefits and salaries.

Maturo said that Marcarelli has done an “outstanding job” recruiting firefighters and has been well received by the firefighters and community. He said the town is “lucky to have someone of that caliber.”