Town Fire Department adds new command position

GREENWICH — The Greenwich Fire Department has a new addition to its command staff.

Charlie Lubowicki, a retired Hamden Fire Department assistant chief, was sworn in Thursday as the assistant chief of administration, a new position for the department.

Lubowicki’s retirement followed 21 years of service in Hamden’s fire department.

According to a statement from the department, the new chief “stood out as a wellrounded and experienced fire officer during our extensive selection process.” His expertise in fire administration was a factor in his hiring, the department said, as well as extensive experience on the front lines of firefighting.

The department had been seeking to hire a new administrator since early 2021. After negotiations and budget-wrangling at Town Hall, the hiring was authorized with an outlay in the $150,000 range added to the budget.

According to Greenwich Fire Chief Joseph McHugh, in an earlier presentation to the Board of Estimate and Taxation,“We’ve had the same administrative staff organization in this department since 1962. That’s six decades with the same administration. We have more employees. We have more regulatory demands on us with training. There’s the physical part of the job. There’s the technology ... I think we need to realize that.”

The goal is to have Lubowicki focus on administration, letting the current assistant fire chief, Brian Koczak, focus on operations.

The department has seen a number of personnel shifts in its leadership ranks over the past year. In May 2020, former Fire Chief Peter Siecienski retired, and Robert Kick later retired as assistant fire chief. McHugh, a former battalion chief for the New York City Fire Department, was hired in August of last year as chief.

The department has 107 career firefighters and some 90 volunteers.