Fire Chief Paul Januszewski has been awarded a certification from the National Fire Academy as an executive fire officer (EFO).

Januszewski began the four-year EFO program in 2015. He completed a series of three graduate level research papers that were published and during the fourth year had to defend one of his research papers before a review board. The program requires participants to attend a two week on-campus course in Maryland each year. Following his attendance during the first three years, an applied research project was completed and evaluated for content and relevance to the fire service.

Completion of the EFO Program is one of the highest honors and levels of certifications available within the fire and emergency services field. It is a four-year program designed to enhance professional development and includes a series of graduate level courses which focus on how the fire command officer exercises leadership.

The EFO Program began in 1985 and is attended by fire service professionals throughout the world. Januszewski is the 47th graduate of the program in Connecticut since that time, and only the second graduate of the program within the North Haven Fire Department. The first graduate of the program was the late chief John Obier, who graduated the program in 1992. The EFO Program is funded entirely by FEMA with no expense to the town.

Januszewski already holds a master’s of public administration, and he is now exploring PhD programs or an additional graduate degree.

Graduates of the EFO Program are highly sought after by fire departments throughout the nation during recruitment of a fire chief as the number of graduates throughout the country is relatively small.