The Connecticut State Firefighters Association, Hall of Fame Award is to recognize present and former members of an organized Fire Department that have served both their Fire Department, County and/or State-wide Fire Service Organizations above and beyond normal expectations, over an extended period of time. Inductees shall have demonstrated both leadership and motivation, for the betterment of the Fire Service, throughout Connecticut and the United States. These persons shall have contributed, in a positive way, to the enrichment of the
organizations that they represented.

Not only is the goal of this award to recognize those leaders, as outlined above, but also to encourage young people to join the Fire Service, both career and volunteer, and to continue to provide leadership and experience, throughout their Firefighting years. Also, to serve as a means of educating and informing the public about the important and indispensable service and protection that the Fire Service provides for the citizens of our communities, state and nation.

Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame Class of 2015

Larry Black

Larry R. Black is the Retired Fire Chief of the Watertown Fire Department.  He began his service with the Watertown Department in 1977, moved up through the ranks and became Chief in 1997.  He also served the community as their Fire Marshal.

Chief Black worked extensively with the State Department of Emergency Management & Homeland Security’s Region 5 – not only as a member of the Steering Committee, but also as the Region Director – overseeing 73 different Fire Departments.

Additionally, over the course of his career, he was a Member and President of the Litchfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency Plan, Member and Officer within the Waterbury Area Fire Chiefs Association, the Litchfield County Representative to the Connecticut Rural Fire Council, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Chiefs Council.  Additional memberships included the National Fire Protection Association, the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association, the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association, the National Fire Academy Alumni Association and the Connecticut Statewide Fire Rescue Disaster Response Plan.

In 2014, he was recognized as the recipient of the Watertown Rotary Club’s Alexander Alves Award, for his significant contributions to the Watertown-Oakville community.

Ralph Black, Jr.

Ralph H. Black, Jr. was appointed to the New Haven Fire Department in 1987, moved up through the various Line and Training Ranks and ultimately retired as the Assistant Chief of Operations.  He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University, with a Bachelors of Science Degree, in Economics.  During his service with the City of New Haven, he also amassed an extensive resume of job-related training courses and certifications.

Assistant Chief Black held memberships in the Fire Service Section of the National Fire Protection Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Fire Academy Alumni Association, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Emergency Management Chiefs Group.  He also was a Member, and Secretary, of the New Haven Firefighters Benevolent Association.

Over the course of his career, he was the recipient of a number of awards and commendations, including 10 New Haven Fire Department Unit Citations.  He was recognized with an Official Citation, from the New Haven Board of Aldermen, for a Courageous Act of Bravery and a Connecticut State Firefighters Association Merit Award, for this part in a rock cliff rescue operation.  In 2011, he was named as the Firefighter of the Year, by The Exchange Club of Greater New Haven.  He also was awarded a Community Service Award, by the North Haven Association of Black Citizens.  Finally, he was recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in recognition of his time and efforts in providing Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Counseling, after the World Trade Center Attacks on September 11, 2001.

Cathleen Connor Goetz

Cathleen Connor Goetz, a third generation Firefighter, joined the Haddam Volunteer Fire Department, held the Rank of Captain, for five years, served as their Chief Financial Officer for eight years and was named a Life Member in 2010.  She also served as a member of the Haddam Volunteer Ambulance Association, through which she was given a number of Life Saving Extrication and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation “Save” awards.

Cathleen was very highly trained, in a number of Emergency Responder Categories, including being a Firefighter III, Fire Service Instructor III, Fire Officer II, a certified Safety Officer and as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Goetz was widely acclaimed, throughout the Fire Service, for her dedication and prowess as a Teacher, Instructor and Mentor.  She was an Adjunct Instructor and Examiner for the Connecticut Fire Academy and an Instructor for the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School, in Willimantic.  She was also an Emergency Medical Technician Instructor.

Additionally, she served in many local and wider roles.  She was the Chair of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Departments By-Law Revision and Grievance Committees,  Coordinator of the Connecticut Fire Academy’s Fire Service Instructor Revision Committee and Chair of their IFSAC Review Committee, a member of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association’s Merit Awards and Memorial Committees, a member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association and was a founding member of the Middlesex Hospital Paramedic Assistant Program.

Goetz was credited as being the developer of the Connecticut Fire Academy’s Fire Service Instructor I curriculum, was a featured Presenter at the national Fire Department Instructors Conference and has written and delivered various programs, that integrated Fire Service Information into the Third, and Fifth Grade Elementary Schools’ curricula – covering mathematics, science, history and language arts.

Rev. Edward Goetz

Reverend Edward C. Goetz, of Haddam, had a long and highly respected relationship with multiple Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement Agencies.

Reverend Goetz, an ordained Episcopal Priest, at the time of his untimely passing, was the Assistant Rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, in Enfield.  Ed was a long time member of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Department and was awarded their Life Member status, in 2010.  Over his years of service, he served that Department in many capacities, including being their Chaplain, Secretary, President and being on several New Apparatus Committees.  Earlier, Ed was with the Long Hill Volunteer Fire Department, of Trumbull, for several years.  He also had served with the Haddam Volunteer Ambulance Service.

“Father Ed” devoted countless hours diligently serving as the Chaplain, and offering extraordinary guidance and faith to many uniformed agencies.  He was a Chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut State Police and both the Middletown Fire and Police Departments.

He held a number of training achievements and certifications – including, but not limited to Firefighter III, Fire Service Instructor, Fire Officer II, Safety Officer, Incident Safety Officer – Suppression, Public Life Safety Education Instructor, Emergency Medical Technician and Emergency Medical Services Instructor.

Another of his gifts was being a very active and highly respected Instructor, on the state-wide level.  Ed touched many volunteer and career Fire Service Members while working as an Instructor with the Connecticut Fire Academy and the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School.  He also was an Adjunct Examiner for the CT Fire Academy.

Ed also served the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, for many years, serving on the Merit Awards and Firefighter Memorial Committees.

In 1996, he was named Volunteer of the Year, by the Hartford Courant newspaper and, in 2014, he was recognized in a Connecticut State Police Unit Citation, for his response and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Counseling to responders affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School (Newtown) disaster.

Frank “Fritz” Hilbert

Frank C. Hilbert has a long and stellar career with the Mystic Fire Department, where he was both the Chief of Department and Fire Marshal.

Chief Hilbert was a very active member of Connecticut State Firefighters Association, serving in a number of offices and committees, including New London County Vice President, 2^nd Vice President, 1^st Vice President and President.  He also served on a number of Association Committees, worked with the Connecticut Joint Council of Fire Service Organizations and served multiple terms as a Commissioner with the Connecticut Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.

“Fritz’s” profound respect for Fire Service History was evidenced by participating in countless public events with Mystic’s beautifully maintained and operated antique Hand Pumper.  He also is a Past President of the New England States Veteran Firemen’s League.

Hilbert also is the recipient of several awards, including ones for Life Saving and Unit Citations.

John Keenan

John Keenan’s local Fire Service Career began when he joined the Glenbrook (Stamford) Volunteer Fire Department in 1954.  In 1960, he was hired as a Paid Driver with the Long Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, also in Stamford, and worked there for 42 years.  He was their Fire Marshal for 24 years and then was the Chief of the Department for three years.  He also was Stamford Fire Commissioner from 1985 through 1992.  Chief Keenan was also a proud, Charter Member of the Stamford Firefighters’ Burn Foundation.

Keenan served as a long-time Member and President for the Connecticut State Firefighters Association and was a Member and Legislative Representative of the Fairfield County Fire Chief’s Association.  Additionally, he was a member of the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association and the State Street Debating Club.

Maurice McCarthy, Sr.

Maurice McCarthy, Sr. was born and raised in Waterbury and was appointed to the Waterbury Fire Department, as a “Call Man”, in 1942.  He received a Permanent Appointment, to the Department, in 1943, and professionally served in a number of positions and ranks there, including Lieutenant, Chief of Department’s Aide, Captain and Battalion Chief.  He retired in 1981.

McCarthy was awarded an Associate’s Degree from Post College and, also, an Associate’s Degree, in Fire Science, from Waterbury State Technical College.

He was also very active in his community’s social and religious organizations.  He was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, was appointed as a Knight of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II, served as a Trustee of Waterbury’s Immaculate Conception Church, was President of the Board of Directors of the Waterbury Association for Retarded Citizens and served as Chairman of the St. Mary’s School Board.

Chief McCarthy was also an active and dedicated member of Connecticut’s statewide Fire Service Community.  He served the Connecticut State Firefighters Association as its President and as a member of their Legislative Committee.  Additionally, he was a Member and Secretary of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, a Member and Secretary of the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association, a member of the New England Association of Fire Chiefs and was a member of the Waterbury Firefighters – International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1339.

McCarthy also served multiple terms as a Commissioner, and Commission Chairman, of the Connecticut Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.

John Platt, Jr.

Chief John Platt, Jr., a longtime member and officer of the Mohegan Fire Company, Inc., located in Uncasville/Montville, was inducted into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.  He was a military veteran, serving during the Vietnam War.

A Life Member of the New London County Fire Chiefs Association, the Mohegan Fire Company, the Oakdale Fire Company and the Montville Fire Company…he served Mohegan in a number of positions, including Chief Engineer, Lieutenant, Assistant Deputy Chief, Deputy Chief and Chief.  He also was a Connecticut State Forest Fire Warden.

Chief Jack Platt served a term as President of the New London County Fire Chiefs Association, was a New London County Vice President of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association, was a member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut State Firefighters Association and the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association.  He served as Chairman of the Montville Public Safety Building Committee, was the first Chairman of the Montville Public Safety Commission and the Parade Marshal for the Town of Montville’s Memorial Day Parade.

Platt was also a committee member for the Norwich Diocese Annual Firefighter Mass, a member of the Montville Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Montville American Legion Post, a Past President of the Montville Civic Activities Committee, a Past President of the Montville High School Music Boosters and a member of the Town of Montville Bicentennial Committee.

He received the Connecticut State Forest Fire Warden Service Award in 1999, the Homer Fraser Fire Safety Education Award in 1993, was named the 1996 Town of Montville Citizen of Year, the 1991 Montville Rotary Club’s Citizen of the Year and the 1987 Montville Veterans of Foreign Wars Citizen of the Year.  He received the Montville National Little League Committee Award in 1998 and received the Connecticut Secretary of State, Susan Bysciewicz Public Service Award, for 25 years of service, to the Town of Montville, in 2001.

Wayne Sandford

Wayne E. Sandford, of East Haven, has led a long and highly respected role in Connecticut’s Fire Service.

Originally serving in a number of capacities with East Haven’s Career Fire Department, including 13 years as Fire Chief, he also served the State of Connecticut as the Connecticut Fire Academy’s Director of Training and State Fire Administrator and as Deputy Commissioner of the state’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.  He also served as East Haven’s Emergency Management Manager.

Sandford has also provided excellent and highly respected advanced training for the Fire Service, serving on the faculties of St. Joseph College, the University of New Haven and the National Fire Academy.  At the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, he was a full time University of New Haven faculty member, in the role of Lecturer, Department of Fire Science and Professional Studies.

Chief Sandford’s personal education background includes an Associate’s Degree, in Civil Engineering, an Associate’s Degree in Fire Administration, a Bachelors Degree in Fire Technology and a Masters Degree in Religious Studies.  He was ordained in 1992, in the Diaconate Ordination Program of the Archdiocese of Hartford.  He also succeeded in a number of various programs through the National Fire Academy.

Additionally, he served on Connecticut’s State Emergency Response Commission and the 2004 Blue Ribbon Committee to Review Life Safety Codes.  He was the Chairman of the International Fire Service Training Association’s Aerial Ladder Committee, a Team Leader for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, a member of the National Fire Protection Association’s 1001 Committee, a Member and Past President of the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs Association, an Executive Board Member of the New England Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, a Past President of the National Association of State Directors of Fire Service Training, Council President and Board of Finance Chairman for the Saint Clare Parish Church and Troop Leader of the Boy Scouts of America, Firefighting Explorer Post.  He also held memberships in a wide array of State and National Fire Service organizations.

In 2011, he developed and coordinated an eight week Emergency Management Education Program for 19 Public Officials from the Chinese Province of Fujian.  He also developed and presented an Emergency Management Program for 24 Korean Police Chiefs.  Wayne was a contributing editor in the “Fire Department Apparatus” textbook, reviewed text for the “Fire Service Hydraulics and Water Supply” textbook and authored Text Questions for Brady Publications.  In 2008, Sandford managed the complete overhaul of the State of Connecticut’s Emergency Operations Center.

In 2005, he was named Emergency Manager of the Year, by the New England Consortium.  He received accreditation as a Chief Fire Officer from the International Commission on Chief Fire Officer Accreditation.  In 2001, he was awarded the honor of being the University of New Haven’s Adjunct of the Year.

Richard Symonds, Jr.

Richard N. Symonds, Jr. joined the Tolland Fire Department in 1963.  In over 41 years with the Fire Department, he filled many seats…including Secretary/Administrative Officer, Assistant Chief, Training Officer, Board of Directors, Deputy Fire Marshal and Fire Marshal.  He was also the Chairperson of the Local Emergency Planning Committee and wrote the SARA Local Emergency Plan, for Tolland.

Symonds authored two Tolland Fire Department Historical Publications.  “They Started with Buckets” and “Answering the Call”.

Over his career, he was highly trained and held a number of certifications, including Fire Officer I, Safety Officer I, Fire Instructor, HazMat Instructor, CPR Instructor, Emergency Medical Technician, Fire Marshal and Rescue Diver.  He also studied under the New England Council for Emergency Management Services and the National Fire Academy.

Richard Symonds was active in the Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service for 39 years, serving as Secretary, as a Board of Directors member, as a member of the Radio and EMS Committees and numerous special committees.  For 30 years, he was an active participant with the Tolland County Search and Rescue Team.  Richard was one of the Founder/Organizers of the Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service’s Dive Team and served as the Team’s Coordinator/Commander.  He also assisted with the organization of the Tolland County HazMat Team and was a member and Chairman of the Tolland and Windham County Radio Committee.

At the statewide level, Symonds was a long time member of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association and served seven years as the Treasurer and a term as President.  He held memberships in the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association, the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association.  He also served on the North Central EMS Board of Directors and retired as its Secretary.  He also was a Founder, Charter Member, Secretary, President and CEO of the Connecticut Firemen’s Historical Society.

Over a period of years, he has been honored with the Tolland Citizen of the Year, Tolland County Bar – Law Day, Firefighter of the Year, Fire Officer of the Year and the Secretary of State’s Public Service Awards.

George H. Thompson

George H. Thompson is a longtime member and Past President of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association (CSFA), serving in that capacity during the year 1964.

President Thompson’s Fire Service Career was with the Willimantic Fire Department, from 1942 through 1964, achieving the rank of Captain.

Thompson was inducted into the Hall of Fame by virtue of his leadership roles with the CSFA and, unfortunately, there is no other biographical information available about him.

John Walsh

John Walsh began his Fire Service Career, in 1952, at the age of 16, when he joined the Blue Hills (Bloomfield) Volunteer Fire Department, as a member of the Civil Defense Auxiliary, then, two years later he was advanced to full membership.  He then was employed by the Hartford Fire Department, beginning in 1960.  While with the Hartford Department, he held the ranks of Firefighter, Driver/Pump Operator, Lieutenant and Captain – retiring in 2008, after 24 years of service.  On December 16, 1983, he was named Chief of the Willimantic Fire Department and served in that capacity for 21 years.

Chief Walsh was a member of the United States Navy Reserve and served on active duty aboard the U.S.S. Johnston.  While on the Johnston, he visited 12 foreign countries while serving in the role of 3^rd Class Machinery Repairman.  He was active with the ships Damage Control Team and battled two on-board fires, while they were at sea.

Walsh is a Past President of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association and a former Hartford County Vice President with the Connecticut State Firefighters Association.  He also assisted the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association by serving on their Hazardous Materials Committee.  He served the Windham County Fire Chiefs Association on their Legislative Committee, served as a Member and on the Legislative Committee 911 Task Force and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School.  He held memberships in International Association of Fire Chiefs and the New England Association of Fire Chiefs.

Additionally, for many years, John was known throughout the State for his Fire Apparatus Sales activities.

John Walsh received many awards during his years of service, both for his Firefighting and Chief Officer accomplishments.  The most important award, to him, was the one he received in 2008, from Congressman Rob Simmons.

Robert White

Robert White spent over 66 years with the Westfield Fire Department, located in Middletown.  During his time with that Department, he held various offices, including Lieutenant, Captain and Deputy Chief.

Bob was a long-time, hard working, active member of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association (CSFA) and was the proud recipient of their 50 Year Certificate.  He served the CSFA on many Committees and as their Middlesex County Vice President.

Additional, White was a member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association and was a member, and Financial Secretary, of the Middlesex County Fire Chiefs.

Nomination Forms are encouraged and are available by clicking this link. Nominations can be submitted at any time. Traditionally, there is a cutoff date, during the month of November. Nominations are then reviewed and those selected, for induction, are notified during the following January. The annual induction dinner/ceremony is traditionally held the following April. The submitted nomination packet describes the nominee’s positions, deeds, accomplishments, awards of distinction, lengths of service and other pertinent information – including, but not limited to other worthwhile community services and recognitions.

Headshots may be submitted by email to webmaster@csfa.org.