CSFA Hall of Fame Class of 2025
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 2025
Richard Baron
Richard Baron became a regular member of the Muddy Brook Fire Department, in Woodstock, in 1973. His first Officer’s role was that of Lieutenant, in 1976, and he ultimately became the Chief of Department in 1992. In 1996, he assumed the role of Fire Marshal for the Town of Woodstock. Chief Baron was also an Emergency Medical Technician, Hazardous Materials Technician and a Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation Instructor. At the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, he was still serving in the Department as a Captain/Safety Officer.
Chief Baron’s leadership and contributions to the development and competence of the Muddy Brook Fire Department are unparalleled. During the 1970’s, he was instrumental in the creation of the Department’s Rescue Company, that expanded their responsibilities from just fire response to also offering Emergency Medical First Response Services. The Rescue Company later acquired Vehicle Extrication Equipment, Air Bags and Ice Rescue Equipment. As a Captain, in 1985, he was credited with starting a Mutual Aid Agreement with the town’s neighboring Massachusetts Departments.
Chief Baron was employed by the State of Connecticut’s Department of Transportation, from where he retired as a Transportation Equipment Fleet Manager. While working there he received his Maintenance of Commercial Vehicles Certificate, from the University of Hartford, in 1982. This background has served invaluable to the Muddy Brook Department, as Chief Baron has served on several New Fire Apparatus Truck Committees as well as having developed their apparatus maintenance and driver training programs.
During his service as the town’s Fire Marshal, he proudly started their Elementary School Fire Prevention Program, which he continues to organize.
During his years as a Chief Officer with the Department, he provided the Department with their first set of Standard Operating Guidelines. He also attended multiple Incident Command Classes, through the National Fire Academy, and he created the town’s first HazMat Response Protocols.
Chief Baron also acquired a number of additional certifications including hydraulic rescue tool training, ice rescue and has served as the Department’s liaison to the Regional HazMat Team. He has been responsible for teaching numerous HazMat Refresher Courses to the Department and wrote their HazMat Response Standard Operating Guidelines.
During his years of service, Chief Baron has been honored by being presented with the Stephen B. Lincoln Award in 2002, which is given to a member of the Muddy Brook Department, who goes above and beyond what is required and expected of them; named a Life Member of the Muddy Brook Fire Department, in 2004, and the Woodstock Firefighter of the Year, in 2012.
Floyd L. Chaney, Jr.
Chief Floyd Chaney had a long and dedicated Fire Service role in Eastern Connecticut, beginning in 1974, as a member of and ultimately holding the rank of Foreman with the F.L. Allen Hook & Ladder Volunteer Company, of the New London Fire Department, and as a Life Member and Past Assistant Chief of the Montville Volunteer Fire Department.
He also was employed at UNC Naval Products, in Uncasville. There, he was a Fire Safety/Industrial Safety Technician and moved up to the rank of Deputy Fire Chief, of their 70-person Fire Rescue Brigade, where he maintained and supported all aspects of Fire Prevention, Hazardous Waste Control and Industrial Safety Programs as well as being their Coordinator for Fire/EMS Training.
During the period of 1994-1995, he served the Town of Montville as their Deputy Fire Marshal.
Then, in 1995, he was named as the Fire Chief/Fire Marshal of the Mohegan Tribal Fire Department, where he served through 2008. Floyd Chaney literally created this unique Fire Department from the ground-up. This Department encompasses all Tribal owned properties, including the Mohegan Sun Casino and all its amenities. Among his early accomplishments were the development of policies and regulations, procurement of a fleet of emergency vehicles and the creation of an Emergency Evacuation Plan for their 7,000,000 square foot casino and hotel.
Additionally, Chaney was one of four local Fire Chiefs that established the Connecticut Eastern Region Response Integrated Team (CERRIT) for the coordination of Hazardous Materials efforts within the region. He also served as the Coordinator of Connecticut Region 3, Chairman of the State of Connecticut RESF Function 10 (Hazardous Materials) and as a member of the Haz Mat Chiefs Working Group, which was comprised of the five Chairmen of the Regional Haz-Mat Teams, within the State, to coordinate necessary response efforts. He also was a runner-up for the State of Connecticut Emergency Manager of the Year.
Chief Chaney was a dedicated Adjunct Instructor at the Eastern Connecticut Regional Fire School, in Willimantic, and as an Oral Board Evaluator for the Connecticut Fire Academy.
He trained and held certifications as a Connecticut State Fire Marshal; Fire Service Instructor I; Fire Officer I, II, III and IV; Public Fire and Life Safety Educator I; Confined Space Instructor; Incident Command Instructor; Health and Safety Officer; Incident Safety Officer; CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Instructor; Hazardous Materials Instructor and was a certified Hazardous Materials Technician.
He also held active memberships with the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the New London County Fire Chiefs Association (Past President), the New London County Fire Marshals Association, the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, the National Professional Qualifications Board for the Fire Service, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association and the National Fire Protection Association.
He was a member and Past President of Montville’s Local 3386, of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a HazMat Representative for TOPOFF 3 and served with the Southeast Council of Government’s Emergency Management Team.
Outside of the Fire Service, he was a Past President of both the Montville Little League and the Montville Babe Ruth Baseball League.
David Christoff
David Christoff began his Fire Service Career, in 1972, as a Volunteer Firefighter in Nassau County (Long Island) New York’s 3rd Battalion. He was first a member of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, in his hometown, and later became a member of the Valley Stream Fire Department.
In April 1977, he was hired as a Firefighter by the Waterbury Fire Department, where he served for twenty-two years, moving up through the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief, retiring in 1999. Then, in 1999, he was hired by the South Fire District, in Middletown, where he served as their Deputy Chief of Operations, until 2002. In March of 2003, he began his career, anew, by returning to his ‘Firefighter Roots’ for the Naugatuck Fire Department.
In addition to his time serving with the above-mentioned Fire Departments, David Christoff has over 40 years of training experience as a Fire Service Instructor. He served with the Wolcott Regional Fire School for 8 years, as an Instructor. In 1981, he was hired as a part-time employee of the Connecticut Fire Academy, where he served until his retirement in 2022, after 41 years. During his time with the Connecticut Fire Academy, he first served as an Adjunct Fire Service Instructor and then as their Recruit Firefighter Program Coordinator. Over those years, he estimates that he has trained hundreds of Volunteer Firefighters and well over two thousand Career Recruits, Firefighters and Company Officers.
In the Naugatuck Fire Department, in addition to his firefighting duties, he also serves as the Department’s Assistant Mechanic, helping to maintain their apparatus and equipment.
During his over fifty years of active fire service, David Christoff has earned numerous certifications, including Firefighter I & II, Fire Instructor I & II, Fire Officer I & II, Pump Operator, Aerial Operator and Fire Department Health & Safety Officer.
He graduated from Waterbury State Technical College with an Associate of Science Degree, with Honors, in Fire Technology & Administration and has also completed numerous courses at the University of New Haven. Over his career, he has been awarded numerous Unit Citations from both the Waterbury and Naugatuck Departments and was selected as the Naugatuck Exchange Club’s Firefighter of the Year, in 2023.
Kevin Donovan
The Rev. Kevin G. Donovan, a Roman Catholic Priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, who, at the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, was serving as the pastor of St. Dunstan Parish in Glastonbury and as a Chaplain with the Connecticut State Firefighters Association. He has been a member of Company 4 of the Glastonbury Fire Department since 2021, and also serves as their Department Chaplain.
Father Donovan, born in Waterbury in 1961, grew up Meriden where he was educated in local parochial and public schools. He is an alumnus of St. Thomas Seminary High School (1979), the College of the Holy Cross (1983 – Bachelor of Arts Degree in Classics) and the Gregorian University in Rome (1986 – Bachelor’s Degree in Sacred Theology). While in Rome he was a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College. He later earned a Master of Science Degree, in Management, from The Catholic University of America, in Washington DC.
Ordained in 1988, Father Donovan has been assigned to many parishes, throughout the Archdiocese. Before coming to Glastonbury, he was Pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Wolcott and then served as Rector of St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford.
Father Donovan, whose maternal grandfather was a Waterbury Firefighter, from 1916 – 1945, began his fire service career in 1991 as the Chaplain of the Hotchkiss Hose Company No. 1, in Derby. Following a triple-fatal row house fire, on Caroline Street, he enrolled in a Firefighter I Training Program, so as to understand just what Firefighters experience in their multiple emergency response actions. Having earned the Fire Fighter I certification, he subsequently was added to the role of the Derby Fire Department’s interior certified Firefighters. Some years later, while a member of Short Beach Hose, Hook and Ladder Co. 4 in Branford, Father Donovan earned Pump Operator Certification, to become an Apparatus Driver/Operator there. He has also earned various other Fire Service Certifications and training in Critical Incident Stress Management.
Since 1991, Father Donovan has served as Chaplain, Firefighter and Apparatus Driver/Operator in six Fire Departments: Derby, Avon, Orange, Branford, Wolcott and Glastonbury. He has held or holds membership in various organizations, including the Federation of Fire Chaplains, the Connecticut Fire Chaplains Association, the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut State Firefighters Irregulars Association, the Connecticut Fire Department Instructors Association, the Knights of Columbus, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Father Donovan’s chaplaincy work also includes other Public Safety Departments. At the time of his Induction, he also served as a Chaplain to the Connecticut State Police, and, in the past, he also served, as Chaplain to both the Avon and Wolcott Police Departments, and the Wolcott Volunteer Ambulance Association.
Norman Ellis
At the time of his induction into the Connecticut State Firefighters Hall of Fame, Chief Norman Ellis had served with the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company for over 50 years, including service in the roles as Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate, Captain of Emergency Medical Services, Fire Captain, Assistant Fire Chief, Chief of Department and member of the Board of Directors. He also served Brookfield as their Civil Defense/Emergency Management Director, from 1973-1994, and as a Special Police Officer, from 1973-1987.
Chief Ellis also served our Nation in the United States Air Force, from 1964 through 1968, including a tour of duty in Vietnam.
A graduate of the first Emergency Medical Technician Course, that was sponsored by Danbury Hospital, in 1972, he was a strong advocate of expanding this Fire Company’s role in providing Emergency Medical Responses to their community. In the earlier years of his emergency medical service, serving alongside his fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Wayne Gravius, they were affectionately referred to as the “Night EMS Squad” … as the Dispatcher would call them, directly at their homes, to respond to nighttime medical calls. He also served on the Regional Paramedic Intercept Committee, which resulted in bringing the first Advanced Life Support units into their community.
While a member of their New Firehouse Building Committee, they designed and constructed a new Headquarters Station, which, at the time, was the largest Fire Station in New England. Chief Ellis is also noted for coordinating the Company’s first purchase of a Hydraulic Rescue Tool System, in 1972, and the establishment of a Paramedic Intercept Program, in 1988. He also authored and helped pass a Dry Hydrant Ordinance, which required sub-divisions and commercial buildings to provide and maintain static water supply systems, for firefighting.
In the 1980’s, Chief Ellis established a Medical Physical Program for his members and developed and implemented a LOSAP (Length of Service Awards Program), for the Company, to facilitate retention of their members. He also worked with State Legislators on establishing Tax Abatement Laws, to benefit Connecticut’s Volunteer Firefighters.
Chief Ellis also trained and certified as an Arson Investigator, Firefighter III, Incident Commander, Hazardous Materials – Operational Technician, Advanced Self Contained Breathing Apparatus Training and Advanced Vehicle Training.
In 1981, Norman Ellis is credited with capturing a Murder Suspect, while returning to the Firehouse, after responding to and treating the Murder Victim. He drove up on the suspect and was able to calmly speak to him and retain him until the arrival of the police.
A longtime member of the Fairfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency Plan and the New Milford Area Fire Chiefs Association (where he was a Charter Member), he is a recipient of many awards and accolades. In 1977 he was voted as the Town of Brookfield’s “Outstanding Man of the Year” and the State of Connecticut’s “Man of the Year”, and, in 2003, the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company established the “Norman T. Ellis Honorary Chiefs Award”, in recognition for his endless support and activities within their organization. In his private life, Chief Ellis worked for the IBM Corporation, from 1968-2000, as their Director of Executive Protection.
Wayne Gravius
Chief Wayne A. Gravius joined the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company in 1971 and held numerous ranks with that Company, including Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief and was the longest serving Chief of the Department, for fifteen years. For over 35 years, Chief Gravius was their top “call responder”.
A member of the first Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Class, offered by Danbury Hospital, in 1972, he further worked, very diligently, with the Regional Paramedic Intercept Committee, to expand the Brookfield Department’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to include in-house Paramedics and EMTs. In the earlier years of his emergency medical service, with his fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Norman Ellis, they were affectionately referred to as the “Night EMS Squad” … as the Dispatcher would call them, directly at home, to respond to night time medical calls. He also served the community as a Special Police Officer from 1973-2020.
A member of the Fairfield County Fire Chiefs Emergency Plan, the New Milford Area Fire Chiefs Association, where he was a Charter Member, the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association and the National Association of Fire Investigators. He also served as the town’s full-time Fire Marshal, from 1984 to 2018, as their part-time Deputy Fire Marshal , from 2018-2022 and was also their Civil Defense/Emergency Management Director, from 1994-2022. Chief Gravius also authored and helped pass a Dry Hydrant Ordinance, which required sub-divisions and commercial buildings to provide static water resources. This action also resulted in an improvement to the Department’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) Rating. Again, working alongside his close friend and fellow Inductee Norman Ellis, they assisted in the investigation, and subsequent apprehension of a serial arsonist, in the greater New Milford area, in the early 1980’s.
Wayne Gravius also served the Town of Bridgewater, for over 20 years, as their part-time Fire Marshal.
Chief Gravius also coordinated the design and construction of their Headquarters Station, diligently served on the Department’s Apparatus Committee and helped coordinate their Stipend Program, in 2015.
In 2003, he was honored with the Wayne A. Gravius Firefighter of the Year Award and, in 2016, with the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, the Company’s “Engine 1” was named in his honor. During his years of service, he also achieved certifications as a Firefighter III, Incident Commander, Hazardous Materials – Operational, Fire Service Instructor and advanced training in Self Contained Breathing Apparatus and Advanced Vehicle Techniques.
William Thomas Kettle, Sr.
William Thomas Kettle, Sr. (also respectfully known as “Bill” and “Poppy”) was a Volunteer Firefighter for 62 years, beginning his service in 1962, at the age of 16, when he joined the Western Coventry Fire Department, in Coventry, Rhode Island. He was their Deputy Chief when he retired from there in 1986, to move to Connecticut. He quickly became a legacy of the Northeastern Connecticut Fire and Emergency Medical Services. He was a member of the Williamsville Fire Engine Company, for 27 years; the Dayville Fire Company for 10 years and the Attawaugan Fire Department for 12 years. He served as a Lieutenant in all three of these Departments while volunteering in Killingly. He was also a 28-year Life Member of the KB Ambulance Corp, where he was a Captain, before retiring in 2016, as a full time Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). He was also a Life Member of the Putnam Emergency Medical Services and was a part-time EMT for Moosup American Legion Post 91 Ambulance. In his later years, he also generously served as scene support. being a member of the Fire Police.
William Kettle was one of the first people to jointly belong to two Departments within the Town of Killingly, to try and help with the declining volunteerism that many Departments were suffering from.
After relocating to Connecticut, he spent the rest of his career helping aspiring Firefighters and Emergency Medical Responders in developing their skills. He was so well known as being a wealth of knowledge to the younger generation. Over his career, he was honored with numerous awards in his local community – including Firefighter of the Year, EMT of the Year and Responder of the Year. Beyond being a Firefighter and EMT, his dedication was also shown as being a member of the Board of Directors, Officer, Apparatus Driver, Educator and Mentor.
Raul Ortiz
Raul Ortiz proudly served with the Hartford Fire Department from 1999 through 2018, moving through the ranks from Firefighter to Apparatus Driver, to Fire Prevention Inspector, to Lieutenant, to Executive Officer and Public Information Officer, then to Deputy Fire Chief, in 2017.
In 2018, Chief Ortiz retired from the Hartford Fire Department and was named the Chief of the New Britain Fire Department, a position he still maintained at the time of his induction into the Hall of Fame. He also is a Commissioner with the State of Connecticut’s Commission on Fire Prevention and Control.
Chief Ortiz earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in History, from Connecticut Central State University. He then graduated from the University of New Haven with a Master of Science Degree in Emergency Management with a focus on Fire Administration. He also has achieved professional certifications in Firefighter I & II, Pump Operator, Fire Instructor I, Fire Officer I, Fire Investigator, Hazardous Materials Technician, Safety Officer, the National Incident Management System and a Fire Officer Designation by the Public Safety Center for Excellence.
Over his career, he has been a member and leader of numerous professional organizations, including – Chairman of the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Committee Member for the International Fire Service Training Association, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Diversity Executive Leadership Program, a member and Past President of the Society of Latin American Firefighters, the Greater Hartford Area Latinos United For Professional Advancement and the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity. Raul Ortiz has also been honored by being voted as one of the 50 Influential Latinos in Greater Hartford, being the recipient of the 100 Men of Color Award, in 2019, and was elected to the Bulkeley High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
Richard Thode
Richard Thode, at the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, was the Chief of the Danbury Fire Department and has been an active member of Connecticut’s Fire Service for 41 years.
Chief Thode has unselfishly served several other Fire Departments in Western Connecticut, both volunteer and career, including the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, from 1982-1983, where he was a student in the first Firefighter I Course taught in the State of Connecticut; the Ridgefield Fire Department, as a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician, from 1983 through 1987, where he also served as the President of Local 1739 of the International Association of Fire Fighters; the West Redding Volunteer Fire Department, from 1983 to 1987; the Bridgeport Fire Department, from 1987 through 2021 and the Stony Hill (Bethel) Fire Department, beginning in 1995. During his service with the Stony Hill Department, he served on the town’s Emergency Medical Services Committee and as Chair of the town’s Fire Apparatus Committee.
During Chief Thode’s notable service with the Bridgeport Fire Department, he moved through the ranks from Firefighter, to Lieutenant, to Captain, to Assistant Chief and finally served as their Chief of Department, from 2016 through 2021. During his service in the City of Bridgeport, his dedication and heroism was recognized five times, including the Gold Star, which is their highest honor and was their Firefighter of the Year in 2009. Additionally, he has been awarded the Alan Brunacini National Fire Executive Award, in 2018; Firehouse Magazine’s Michael McNamee Award, in 2021; in 2018, a surprise recognition, from the entire membership of the Bridgeport Fire Department, for vastly improving their Firefighter Health and Safety and, in 2021, the Danbury Fire Department’s Exceptional Service Medal, for his leadership in a trench rescue.
He has served Bethel as a member of both their Apparatus and Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committees.
A longtime member of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the New England Fire Chiefs Association, the Connecticut Career Fire Chiefs Association and the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, Chief Thode has also been an Adjunct Instructor at the Connecticut Fire Academy, for 27 years, and was a Class Leader, in 2017, at the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Service Executive Institute. He has earned several professional certifications, including Fire Officer IV, Rescue Technician, HazMat Technician, Fire Instructor II and Safety Officer. Also, during his fire service career, he served on the Design Committees for over 40 pieces of Fire Apparatus.
Edward Waido
At the time of his Hall of Fame Induction, Edward Waido was still an Active Member of the Flanders Fire Department, in East Lyme, where he has held all offices, including Chief of the Department, and also served there, as a Career Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician, for 25 years. He also held the office of President of the Flanders Fire Department for a term of 6 years.
Additionally, he served as a Career Firefighter, for 5 1/2 years, with the Electric Boat Fire Department, in Groton; is a Life Member of the Oswegatchie Fire Department, of Waterford; a member of the Chesterfield Fire Department, in Montville; and is a member of the Cohanzie Fire Department New London-Waterford Speed Bowl Emergency Crew.
Chief Waido was honored three times as the Flanders Fire Department’s Firefighter of the Year – in 1971, 1977 and 1998.
While a volunteer member of the Flanders Fire Department, he received multiple commendations and letters of thanks from the First Selectman. One of these awards was an East Lyme Police Department “Citizen’s Action Award” for his support at an early morning motor vehicle accident, at which he provided an East Lyme Police Officer with assistance, in a potentially dangerous situation, where the Officer had no police back-up.
During the time he was employed as a Career Firefighter, at the Electric Boat Fire Department, he received multiple Unit Citations, including a Life Saving Award for saving the lives of 9 construction workers who had experienced a prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide, due to a gasoline powered unit, running in an enclosed building, that had created carbon monoxide levels of 560 parts per million. He and his two shift partners heroically and successfully evacuated the impacted workers from the building.
Edward Waido was extremely dedicated and committed to the Connecticut State Fire Fighters Association, where he served on their Education Committee, as the New London County Vice President and then moved up through the Chairs and served as the Association’s President from 2021 through 2023. While serving as the Association President, he lobbied many hours at the State Capitol, with the Firefighters Cancer Committee to get the State of Connecticut’s Cancer Coverage Bills upgraded to a higher status, protecting all Firefighters.
President Waido has also held memberships and was an active member of the New London County Fire Chiefs Association – going through the Chairs, ultimately serving as their President for 2 years; the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association; the Connecticut Firefighters Irregulars Association; the Connecticut State-Wide Honor Guard; the Connecticut State Firefighters Memorial Committee; the Firefighter/EMS Memorial Mass Committee of the Norwich Diocese and the Connecticut Joint Council of Fire Service Organizations, where he served a term as Council Chairman. Over the years, Ed dedicated his life to helping others and putting their needs before his own. He unselfishly mentored numerous junior members of the Flanders, Oswegatchie, Cohanzie and Chesterfield Fire Departments. Many of these proteges’ have gone on to become career firefighters, and most of them have continued volunteering, in their communities, as well.
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.
