Melissa Bailey Photo
William Perez, Jr. already had his father’s name and a dose of paternal career counseling. On Wednesday, William Perez, Sr. gave him a fireman’s badge and a license to follow in his footsteps.
Perez, Jr. was one of four paramedics to become city firefighters in a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday at the New Haven Regional Fire Training Academy. He’s pictured above receiving a congratulatory hug from his 4‑month-old daughter, Adriana.
For Perez, Jr., who grew up in Bridgeport, the career runs in the family: His father, William Perez, Sr., is an assistant fire chief in East Hartford.
The Perez family members were among a few dozen spectators who showed up Wednesday to the ceremony at 230 Ella T. Grasso Blvd.
The four soon-to-be New Haven firefighters, as well as one who’s joining West Haven’s force, lined up at the handicapped entrance around 5:30 p.m. awaiting their moment to process inside. The newcomers to the New Haven force are already licensed paramedics who have been working for American Medical Response in Hartford, Bridgeport or New Haven.
While they waited, firefighter James T. Brown (at center in photo), who’s nearing retirement, offered some advice to the rookies: “Just keep the laughter goin’ in the firehouse and time goes fast.”
The four recruits have just completed 10 weeks of training, which culminated in live fire practices in “burn houses” at the training academy.
Fire Chief Michael Grant said the burn they went through was controlled. The experience was “one-thousandth of what it’s like” to be in at a fire scene. Now comes the hard work, he said, which may include “crawling down a hole,” opening someone’s airway so he can breathe, extricating someone from a car crash, or pulling someone out of a burning building.
“There is nothing more rewarding in this world than being able to save someone’s life,” Grant said.
From left: Mayor DeStefano, Jerry Rynich, William perez, Jr., Chris Brigham, Ryan Almeida.
Mayor John DeStefano administered the oaths to the four New Haven recruits. First, he gave them a history primer: New Haven was “fully built out by the first World War,” he said, so there are a lot of old buildings. New Haven is a “welcoming city” to new Americans and to the poor. He said city firefighters have a tradition of treating people with respect even in their most desperate moments.
The recruits returned to the stage to get a hearty handshake from Grant and a fire badge pinned onto their uniforms.
When one pinner took caution sticking the sharp pin into a rookie’s chest, he was quickly reassured by a bystander: “It’s OK, he’s a paramedic.”
Perez, Sr. pinned the badge on his son, then gave him a tight hug.
After the ceremony, he declared himself a “proud,” “happy” dad. He said he taught his own son at paramedic school, then convinced him to be a firefighter.
“It’s the world’s greatest job,” said Perez, Sr.
Assistant Chief Perez, who’s 46, lives in Andover; firefighter Perez, who’s 29, lives in New Britain. They hail from Bridgeport, and from a family that gravitates towards public service. Perez, Jr.‘s uncle is a Bridgeport cop.
Perez, Jr. said after watching his father, being a firefighter was “always a childhood dream of mine.” He said he worked for a year and a half as a paramedic before landing the job in New Haven. He said as a bilingual Puerto Rican, he’ll be an asset in the city, where at least one in five people are Latino.
As he spoke, Perez, Jr. held an envelope with his work assignment, which he had just learned: He’s due to join Engine 9.
That’s on Ellsworth Avenue, offered Chief Grant, who was standing nearby. Two rookies start work Tuesday and two on Friday.
Ryan Almeida, a 21-year-old who lives in Stratford, will be joining Engine 8 on Whitney Avenue (at least, until that engine gets taken offline).
As a thank you for the past 10 weeks, the recruits spiffed up a 1940s deluge gun and dedicated it to their training staff. Almeida said they found the gun while cleaning out a room at the training academy. It was old and rusted. They sand-blasted, polished and repainted it between training sessions. Then they added a plaque.
As probationary firefighters, the rookies will make $36,491 a year. The wage will rise quickly: The current salary for a firefighter who’s completed three years on the job is $67,283.
Before joining the fire force, Almeida worked for AMR in Bridgeport. With the four rookies, the fire force now has 17 paramedics. Three city firefighters are getting trained to be paramedics, too, said Assistant Chief Pat Egan.
Egan said the city plans to continue hiring. Including the new members, New Haven has 295 firefighters, which leaves the city 55 to 56 members short. He said the city plans to seat another class of 30 firefighters soon. The city expects eight to 10 retirements by July 1, when the firefighters’ contracts run out, and even more by the end of the year, according to Egan.
As Perez, Jr. posed for a photo with his family, Egan joked to Perez, Sr. about his son’s promising career.
“You could be working for him one day,” he said.