NAMES IN THE NEWS
DEPARTMENTS
The Connecticut fire service will be honoring Richard P. Sylvia, a former editor of FIRE ENGINEERING, at a dinner on April 20, 1985, at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, CT. Mr. Sylvia recently stepped down as one of the commissioners for Connecticut’s Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, a position he held for the past nine years. Mr. Sylvia, past chief of the Noroton Fire Department and instructor for the state’s technical colleges and the Connecticut State Fire School, has been actively involved in setting the direction of Connecticut’s fire service for many years. He was instrumental in attaining the state technical college associate degree program in Connecticut.
Tom Robertson was promoted from division chief to fire chief of the Palm Springs, CA, Fire Department. Chief Robertson, a 20-year veteran of the department, was appointed fire chief following the retirement of Byron Chaney.
Father William T. Walker, rector of St. Simon’s Episcopal Church in Miami, FL, and chaplain for the City of Miami Fire-Rescue, was awarded the Robert W. Little, Jr., Humanitarian Award for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Father Walker has been associated with the fire service for over 42 years, serving as an auxiliary firefighter and lieutenant from 1941 through 1949 in New York and as a volunteer firefighter/chaplain in the Northeast and south Florida.
The award, named for the former chief of the York, PA, Fire Department, honors “The firefighter or friend of the fire service who has distinguished him/herself in service to his or her fire community or to his or her community.”
