Neena Satija Photo
A former city assistant fire chief is coming out of retirement — at least temporarily — to run the department.
The former assistant chief, Ralph Black (pictured), will serve as the department’s interim chief while a national search commences for a permanent replacement for Allyn Wright, who retired on Jan. 4. (Read about that here.)
“It’s great to be back,” Black said Wednesday. “I love the New Haven Fire Department. I feel fortunate.”
Black, who as interim chief will earn the same $125,000 salary Wright did, said he looks forward to continuing the “positive changes” begun under Wright’s watch: hiring and promoting more firefighters, modernizing technology, refurbishing firehouses.
Black served in New Haven’s fire department for 27 years before retiring in 2014. He was one of three candidates considered to serve as interim chief. He has been inducted into the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame; he teaches fire science at Gateway Community College.
Black, who is 52, returns to the firehouse next Monday. Until then Assistant Chief Matt Marcarelli is in charge.
Black said he is considering applying for the permanent position, dependent on the city’s formal job description. He lives in North Haven, so he’d have to move into the city to take the permanent position.
“I’m going to first see what they come out with. If I fit the bill. If I fit the bill, I probably will” apply, he said.
Black’s “command of the firefighting profession, its strategies and equipment, and the great respect he has earned among firefighters and residents citywide will help him serve the city once more as an excellent acting chief,” Mayor Toni Harp said in a release issued by her office.