By Carol DeMare
The Times Union
ALBANY, N.Y. — Deputy Fire Chief Robert C. Forezzi Sr. — whose career with the fire department spans more than three decades - has been tapped by Mayor Jerry Jennings as the city’s new chief, administration officials confirmed Friday.
Forezzi, 52, will be officially appointed next week to the job that pays $97,045 a year as head of the 260-member department. He succeeds Chief Michael Dunn, who retired Friday after more than 34 years with the department. Dunn became chief in 2001.
“I’m ecstatic,” Forezzi said Friday.
He is known throughout the city for his work ethic, always with a cellphone to his ear, running interference and putting out fires, so to speak.
“I’m a hands-on guy, and I plan to pursue some new technologies in the fire service to bring us up to the 21st century,” he said. “There’s some operational changes I want to see, and I want to increase fire prevention and education for elders, as well as children. I think prevention is a big part of the fire service that we haven’t capitalized on. If you can prevent a fire from happening, our job is much easier and people are safer.”
Forezzi reflected on the changes since Sept. 11, 2001. “Fire chiefs are no longer expected to put fires out and answer medical calls,” he said. “Our men and women need to be prepared for a whole new arena of emergencies that could occur - chemical and biological warfare and weapons of mass destruction. We are the first responders to any incident that occurs in our cities.”
Sam Fresina, president of the Albany Permanent Professional Firefighters Association, was unaware of Forezzi’s pending appointment but said, “If the new chief is Bob Forezzi, I don’t have any problems with him, and I’m sure I will be able to work with him in whatever matters come up. We have enjoyed a good relationship with Chief Dunn. Through his five years, we’ve been able to solve a lot of problems without it getting to the mayor’s office, and we expect to be able to do the same if Bob Forezzi becomes the next chief.”
The city department has been rated as one of the best nationwide in its response time to fires.
On March 4, 1974, Forezzi was provisionally appointed a firefighter by then-Chief Joseph Fitzmaurice. He then transferred to a job as fire alarm operator in the dispatching center, before the days of 911 emergency calls.
In July 1980, Fitzmaurice appointed him a permanent firefighter. Forezzi worked his way up the ranks, serving as a lieutenant, and then jumped to deputy chief, a position to which Jennings appointed him in May 2002.
“I’ve done every job in the fire service,” he said. “I’ve been with an engine company, a ladder company, a paramedic unit, the rescue squad” and currently “in charge of fire prevention, fire investigations and codes and buildings.”
Forezzi, a former state-certified fire instructor, is considered the city’s fire marshal. Last year, he headed a multi-agency task force that investigated a string of arson fires in the city.
An Albany resident, Forezzi and his wife, Daphne, have two sons - Robert, a city police officer, and Nicholas, a senior at Christian Brothers Academy.