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 2021

Raymond C. Barber

Raymond Barber joined the Bozrah Volunteer Fire Company in 1952. Over his years of service with them, he held many ranks, including being their Assistant Secretary, Vice-President, President, Engineer, Deputy Chief and Chief of Department. He also served as Fire Marshal for the communities of Bozrah, Franklin and Lebanon, from 1973-1998.

Chief Barber has been recognized as being the first Emergency Medical Technician, in Bozrah, and helped to form their local Ambulance Service, in 1974. He was also one of the founders of the Colchester Emergency Communications KX System, in 1978. This provided for the coordination of 911 emergency communications for the town.

He is a long-time member of the New London County Fire Chiefs Association and served as their President in 2015. Additionally, he was a Charter Member and President of the Southern Connecticut Council of Governments, a Member of the State of Connecticut Emergency Medical Services Commission, a member of the Connecticut Advisory Committee on Emergency Medical Services and a Committee Member for the Connecticut State Firefighters Conventions in 2010 and 2017.

Chief Barber served our country, in the United States Army, he was the First Selectman of Bozrah from 1979-1999 and since 2009, he has sat on the Bozrah Board of Finance.

A recipient of the Bozrah Volunteer Fire Company’s Outstanding Service Award, he also received a United States Congress Official Citation and a State of Connecticut Official Citation, both recognizing his lifetime service to Fire and Emergency Medical Services.

James DiPace

At the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, James “Jamie” DiPace was a 46- year Member and Officer of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, serving as their Chief from 1995-2011. Additionally, he has served the Town of Avon community as their Assistant Building Official, long-time Fire Marshal, Fire Department Board Member and Emergency Management Director.

An active participant in many Fire Service Organizations, he is a Member, Past President and Assistant Secretary of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, a Member of the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association and a Member and Past President of the Capitol Region Fire Marshals Association. He also served on the state’s Fire Marshals Training Council and on the Connecticut Fire Prevention Code Committee. A member of the New England Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Fire Protection Association, he has also been involved with the Volunteer and Combination Officers section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. In 2018, he served as the Vice-Chair of the Capitol Region Emergency Planning Committee.

Recognized, nationally, for his leadership in the Volunteer Fire Service and multiple Fire Prevention Programs, Chief DiPace established a pilot program for the Avon School System’s 5th Grades, known as the “STEP” Program – which stands for Student Tools for Emergency Management. For this, he was honored by both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Lions Club. He also has been honored for his role as the Incident Commander for the 2005 Avon Mountain Crash, received a Connecticut State Firefighters Association Merit Award, the Avon Lion’s Club Citizen’s Award and the Thompson Brook School Community Hero Award.

Among his other accomplishments, he works with the Legislative Committee, to enhance laws for public safety and the Connecticut Fire Chief’s “Work Force Solutions” Committee and “Everyday Heroes” Program. These programs provide valuable assistance to Volunteer Fire Departments in the recruitment and retention of members.

Chief DiPace was the Co-Chair of the committee that built a Multi-Town Class A Fire Burn Training Facility, which was accomplished mostly using donated funds. He also works on the Connecticut State Firefighters Memorial Committee, doing fundraising for their rebuilding of the Memorial’s stonework panels.

Vincent P. Landisio

Beginning in 1983, Vincent Landisio began his very strong and respected presence within the Fire Service, in New Haven County, when he was appointed a Firefighter with the City of New Haven Fire Department. While serving with New Haven, he steadily moved up the ranks, ultimately holding the position of Acting Deputy Chief when he retired, after 20 years of outstanding service. He then was named Fire Chief/Fire Marshal/Director of Emergency Management for the North Haven Fire Department, where he served for 12 years. He then assumed the role of Fire Marshal for the West Shore Fire District, in West Haven, where he was still serving at the time of his Hall of Fame Induction.

Vinnie earned a Bachelors Degree, in Physical Education, from Southern Connecticut State University and a Master of Science Degree, in Fire Service Administration, from the University of New Haven. He also achieved his State of Connecticut – Fire Marshal, Fire Service Instructor I, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Public Fire Educator and Incident Command Certifications.

Chief Landisio held memberships in the International Association of Fire Chief, the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association and the International Association of Firefighters. He also served the New Haven IAFF Local as their Secretary/Treasurer for several terms.

Also, very active outside of the Fire Service, he was on the Board of Directors of West Haven’s Notre Dame High School, assisted with North Haven Youth Football and the Max Sinoway Little League. He was a Committee Member with the New Haven Sister Cities and the New Haven Special Olympics, where he was a Director of Activities as well as a volunteer on the Softball Committee.

Additionally, he held active memberships in the Libero-Pensiero Society, the North Haven Chapter of the Sons and Daughters of Italy, the Saint Catello Society, Porcini International, Saint Andrews Society, the North Haven Council – Knights of Columbus, the Greater New Haven Umpires Association and the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Umpires Association.

Among his accolades, he was the recipient of eleven New Haven Fire Department Unit Citations, the New Haven Club of Providence College’s Veritas Award, the Distinguished Citizen Award from the North Haven Sons and Daughters of Italy, the New Haven Block Watch Association’s Firefighter of the Year Award, the New Haven Box 22 Association’s Firefighters of the Year Award and the Andy Papero Youth of the Year Award.

Robert D. Marquis

Robert Marquis, of Hampton, served in numerous roles with Connecticut’s Fire Service. He was an Emergency Medical Technician with the Hampton-Chaplin Ambulance, a 60-year Member and Volunteer Firefighter with the Hampton Fire Department and a Firefighter with the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Fire Department, were he served for 25 years, retiring with the rank of Captain. Robert Marquis also served as the Fire Marshal for the Town of Hampton.

Education was also a strong component of his dedicated service. He held an Associates Degree, in Fire Science, from Hartford State Technical College, a Bachelors Degree from Eastern Connecticut State University and trained at the National Fire Academy. Bob Marquis also held certifications as a Hazardous Material Technician, Incident Command and Incident Safety Officer. He was also a very well-respected Educator, having taught numerous classes and courses at Hartford State Technical College, Three Rivers Community College, the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School and the Connecticut Fire Academy.

Among his awards and recognitions were the State of Connecticut Public Service Award; a Unit Citation, for Arson Investigations in Eastern Connecticut, from the Connecticut State Police and a Unit Citation Award from the Hampton Volunteer Fire Department. He also held active memberships in the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association and the Windham County Fire Marshals Association.

Robert Marquis served our Nation, with distinction, as a member of the United States Army, 20th Armored Division.

Edward P. Urbansky

Edward P. Urbansky, Jr. joined Glastonbury Fire Department’s Company #1, in 1966, as a Volunteer Firefighter. He later became an Apparatus Operator, was a Charter Member of the Glastonbury Firefighters Association, Foreman of the Naubuc Fire Department and was presented a Life Saving Award, in 1968, for saving the life of an unconscious victim of a building fire. In 1977, he was appointed to the Glastonbury Board of Fire Commissioners and served there until 1991. During that period, he is credited with upgrading the Department’s Apparatus Fleet and Equipment. In 1991, Ed retired from the Board of Fire Commissioners and transferred to Fire Company 4, as a Firefighter and Apparatus Operator, and also became the Foreman of the Buckingham Fire Department. In addition to the Life Saving Award, he also was presented a Public Service Award, three Company Citations and, in 2017, was named as Glastonbury’s Firefighter of the Year. Edward Urbansky also served his Department as a member of the Glastonbury Fire Training Facility Building Committee, which resulted in the construction of a comprehensive and diverse training facility.

During his years of active service, he attended numerous courses at the Hartford County Regional Fire School, the New Haven Regional Fire School, the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School, the Connecticut Fire Academy and the Massachusetts Civil Defense Training Academy. In those institutions, he achieved certifications in Structural Firefighting, Apparatus Operations and Vehicle and Technical Rescue. He also taught as a Light and Heavy-Duty Rescue Instructor.

A long-time member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association and the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association, he served on the Fire Chiefs Association’s Equipment and Product Show Committee, for many years, and, in 2000, Ed became a member of the Connecticut State Firefighters Memorial Committee and served, with utmost dedication, as their Fundraising Chairman.

Richard Winn

Richard Winn first joined the Fire Service in 1977, when he joined Barkhamstead’s Pleasant Valley Fire Department as a Volunteer Firefighter. He held a number of positions, with Pleasant Valley, and became their Chief in 1981. He also has been given the honor of being designated as a “Life Member”.

In 1984 he was appointed as a Career Firefighter, with the West Hartford Fire Department. He served West Hartford, with distinction, for 33 years, moving through the ranks and ultimately retiring as their Assistant Chief of Operations.

Also, a very dedicated and respected Fire Service Educator, Rich started as an Instructor, with the Litchfield County Regional Fire School, ultimately serving as their Director and overseeing the construction of their new facility, in 2018.

Chief Winn holds a Bachelors Degree, in Public Administration, from Charter Oak College. He also was certified, at the state level, as an Emergency Medical Technician, Fire Officer IV, Fire Service Instructor II and as a Hazardous Material Technician. He has also attained numerous National Domestic Preparedness and National Fire Academy Certifications, including the Executive Fire Officer Program.

Over the time of his service, he was also a very active participant with the Litchfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency Plan, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association and the Connecticut State Firefighters Association’s Education Committee, where he worked diligently, over many years, to support all of the state’s Regional Fire Schools.

He has also served with the Connecticut Region 3 Hazardous Material Response Team, as a Deputy Team Leader and Finance Section Chief for the Connecticut Region 3 Incident Management Team and on the Barkhamsted Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and Fire District Board.

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.