DEPARTMENT
NEWS:
Jan 2013 - Bernie
Digiulio,
former Centredale volunteer and one of the first 10 NPFD career firefighters,
passed away on January 27, 2013. Our condolences to his family.
Bernie and his family are a good part of the heart and soul of the department,
and he will be greatly missed.
Aug 2012 - Our
condolences to Capt. Paul Refino (retired), whose father, former
councilman James P. "Pungy" Refino, passed away on Aug 27, 2012.
Calling hours, this EVENING, Wednesday, 4-8 PM, in the A.A. MARIANI and SON
Funeral Home, 200 Hawkins St., Providence. Funeral Thursday at 9:45 AM with a
Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:15 AM in The Church of the
Presentation, 1081 Mineral Spring Ave., North Providence. Burial in Gate of
Heaven Cemetery, East Providence. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in
Pungy's memory to: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , 501 St. Jude Place,
Memphis, TN, 38105.
Aug 2012 - Our
condolences to former call FF John "Sange" Sangiovanni, whose
father Angelo Sangiovanni passed away on Aug 5, 2012. Funeral services
were held near his residence in VA.
Mar 2012 - Our
condolences to Lt. Eric Bazzle (retired), whose brother Marc Bazzle
passed away on March 23, 2012 at age 43. Funeral services were held
Sunday, March 25th at 1:00 PM in Sugarman-Sinai Memorial Chapel, 458 Hope St.,
Providence with burial in Lincoln Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
contributions in his memory may be made to Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave.,
Providence, RI 02906.
Mar 2012 - Congratulations
to the 12 new hires for NPFD: James Chappel, Michael Feeley, Brookes
Leone, Kyle DeMerchant, Sarkis Parshegian, Matthew Sylvester, Paul Kirchner,
Brad Russo, Ruben Tejada, David Bouley, William O'Keefe and Marc Swartz
Feb 29, 2012 - Our
condolences to the family of Capt Greg Unsworth, who passed away today at
age 46 of job-related cancer.
Funeral
details will be posted when they become available. Rest easy, Greg.
Feb 2012 - Our
condolences to the family of Assistant Chief Richard Renzi, Sr of the
Pawtucket Fire Dept, who passed away today at age 63. He was the
father of Rescue Lt. Richard Renzi, Jr of Rescue 1.
The
Annual St.
Patrick's Day Dinner
will be held Saturday, March 10, 2011, at 5:00 pm at Firefighter's
Memorial Hall (the old Centredale station), 1995 Smith St, North Providence.
The menu will include a boiled dinner (corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage,
beets, Irish soda bread, rye bread), , zeppoles, coffee, Centredale's own Yacht Club
soda, and green beer. Tickets must be purchased in advance -
seating is limited to 80. Tickets are $12 for adults, free for kids age 8
and under. The deadline is Sat March 3. Please contact Eric Bazzle
or Ray Parenteau for reservations.
Jan 2012 - With
the de-activation of Engine 3 and closing of station 3, the town was left with
three front-line engine companies. The administration has therefore
re-numbered Engine Company 4 at the Marieville station as Engine 3.
Dec
2011 – Rescue
Capt John Gregson
retired after 25 years on the career force, and over 30 years of firefighting.
John has long been a CPR instructor and the dept EMS Coordinator, and an
inspiration both personally and professionally to other firefighters. We
wish him well in his retirement and in future challenges.
June
2011 - Our
condolences to the family of FF Shawn Sloan on their tragic loss.
June
5, 2011 – The
Annual Muster of the RI Antique Fire Apparatus Society will
be held Sunday, June 5, 2011, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Ninigret Park on
Route 1A in Charlestown. Very likely Capt. David Giammarco will be
bringing the old North Providence Ladder 1. Admission to the show is free.
The
Annual St.
Patrick's Day Dinner
will be held Saturday, March 12, 2011, at 5:00 pm at Firefighter's
Memorial Hall (the old Centredale station), 1995 Smith St, North Providence.
The menu will include a boiled dinner (corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage,
beets, Irish soda bread, rye bread), hot dogs, zeppoles, coffee, Centredale's
own Yacht
Club soda, and green beer. A 50/50 raffle will also be held.
Tickets must be purchased in advance - seating is limited to 80. Tickets
are $12 for adults, $6 for kids age 9-12 and free for 8 and under. The
deadline is Sat March 5. Please contact Eric Bazzle or Ray Parenteau for
reservations.
Dec
2010 – Battalion
Chief John Cagno
(formerly Capt of Squad 1) retired after nearly 25 years on the career force,
and over 32 years of firefighting. John has long been an instructor with
the RI Fire Academy, and an inspiration both personally and professionally to
other firefighters. We wish him well in his retirement and in future
challenges.
June
13, 2010 – The
Annual Muster of the RI Antique Fire
Apparatus Society will
be held Sunday, June 13, 2010, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Johnston War
Memorial Park on Hartford Ave. Very likely Capt. David Giammarco will
be bringing the old North Providence Ladder 1. Admission to the show is
free, but a donation of non-perishable items will be collected for the Rhode
Island Food Bank. Food, soft drinks and Rhode Island Antique Fire
Apparatus Society souvenir t-shirts and hats will be sold.
May 2010 - Capt
Bob Cardin has
announced his retirement after 24 years. He started as a call firefighter
at Station 4 and was one of the first EMT-Cardiacs on the dept. We wish
him well in his retirement.
March 2010 - Battalion
Chief Len Albanese has
been appointed Acting Fire Chief for a 90-day period, to be extended at the
mayor's discretion. We wish him well in these challenging times.
March 2010 - Our
condolences to Capt (ret) John Carnegis, now employed by FEMA in their
National Fire Programs-Emergency Response Support Branch, on the loss of his father James on
January 25, 2010.
Burial
was in Highland Memorial Park, Johnston. In lieu of flowers, donations in
James's memory to Home and Hospice Care of RI, 1085 N. Main St., Providence, RI
02904.
March 2010 - Our
condolences to Battalion Chief (ret) Ken Scandariato, now the Fire Chief
of Norwich, CT, on the passing of his mother Diana on March 2, 2010.
Visitation will be held Friday, 5-8 p.m. with a funeral on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
from the PONTARELLI-MARINO Home, 971 Branch Avenue, Providence, followed by a
Mass of Christian Burial to be concelebrated at 9:30 a.m. in the Church of the
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1081 Mineral Spring Avenue, North
Providence. Burial will take place in Highland Memorial Park, Johnston.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Home & Hospice Care of RI 1085
North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904.
Feb
2010 - Assistant
Chief Andrew Zarlenga
retired after more than 23 years as a career firefighter and several more as a
call firefighter. We wish him well in his retirement. With no dept
chief, the mayor has opted to keep both positions vacant due to budget crises,
and have the three battalion chiefs run the dept. He has prevailed on
surrounding towns to have their chiefs command any major incidents.
Feb
2010 - Ladder
1 was out of
service for over a week having new front springs installed, with its crew
running reserve Engine 6 (the former Engine 3) out of station 1, with city
service only. Surrounding towns and cities were asked to send a ladder
almost daily, as needed, on calls, due to lack of a reserve ladder since 2005.
Jan
8, 2010 - Station
3 has
been closed and Engine 3 de-activated indefinitely per order of Mayor Charles A.
Lombardi, with the claim that it will save $50,000 per year and not impact
public safety, and cause only an average 15-second delay for the next nearest
engine company to respond. Engine 3 is now designated as reserve Engine 6,
and station deployments are now as follows: Station 1: Engine 1,
Ladder 1, Rescue 1, reserve Engine 6 and Marine 1; Station 2: Engine 2,
Battalion 1, reserve Engine 5; Station 4: Engine 4, Rescue 2, Squad 1.
Reserve Rescue 3 was temporarily at station 3, unknown if still there.
Dec
7, 2009 - Chief
Albert Bertoncini has
resigned effective today.
Assistant Chief Andrew Zarlenga is the Acting Chief of Dept at this time.
Dec
3, 2009 - Station
3 has
been re-opened until at least Wed, Dec 9, 2009. At that time a court
hearing will determine the future status.
Dec
12, 2009 - The Annual Christmas Dinner Party will be held Saturday, December 12,
2009, at 5:00 pm at Firefighter's Memorial Hall (the old Centredale station),
1995 Smith St, North Providence. The menu will consisted of appetizers, salad,
macaroni and meatballs, bread, butter, soda, coffee, wine, eggnog and dessert. A
Yankee swap with suggested gift price of about $10 will be held, and Santa will
stop by. Prices are $10 for adults and kids over 8; $5 for kids ages 4 to 8 and
free ages 3 and under. We ask that you also bring a canned good or
non-perishable food for the RI Food Bank.
Sep
29, 2009 - It
is with the heaviest of hearts that we acknowledge the death of Rev. Kenneth
D. Erickson, retired career and call FF and Providence FD chaplain. He
passed away unexpectedly last night. Arrangements will be posted when they
are made known. We will always love you and miss you, Ken. Rest
easy, brother.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 31 at 11am - St Edwards
Church, 997 Branch Ave, Providence, Rhode Island.
Sep 2009 - Sep
2009 update:
NPFD is now operating on a P25 (Project 25) digital trunking system as part of
the 800 MHz North Zone in RI. The primary control frequency is 868.5125
MHz, and dispatch is on Talkgroup 1547, with a fireground channel on Talkgroup
1548.
To listen, you will need an 800 MHz range digital trunking scanner, not
merely an 800 MHz analog one. It's been reported that a simulcast on the
154.800 MHz frequency may be hardwired by the end of Sep 2009. Until then,
154.800 and 154.250 MHz channels are silent.
Sep
2009 - Engine
3's motor had a fatal failure, and just came back from replacement. Engine
1's truck has been re-assigned as reserve Engine 5, and Engine 1 has been
replaced by a 1992 E-One engine from PA. The previous Reserve Engine 5
will be disposed of. Trucks have been re-lettered and pictures will be
posted when available.
July
14, 2009 - Our
condolences to Capt. Raymond Medeiros (A group, Rescue 1), on the passing
of his father on July 13, 2009.
The funeral will be held on Thursday at 8:45 A.M. from the PERRY-McSTAY FUNERAL
HOME, 2555 Pawtucket Ave., East Providence with a Mass of Christian burial at
10:00 A.M. in St. Anthony Church, 1413 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence.
Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Calling hours Wednesday 5-8.
Flowers are respectfully omitted. Contributions to Heritage Hills Nursing
Center Activity Fund, 80 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI would be deeply
appreciated.
July
2, 2009 - Our
condolences to Lt. John Horan and FF Steve Horan, on the passing of their
stepfather, Mike Vallee. Mike was a
volunteer FF for the Marieville FD.
Mar 2009 - Appointments
and Retirements: Battalion
Chief Donald Clark and his wife Kathy
Clark both retired recently after about 31 and 25 years of service to the
dept. Their service spans the days
from the call system to a career dept, and they have a son who is a FF in
Lt.
Eric Bazzle
retired after 23 years as a career FF.
Best
wishes in your future endeavors.
Henry
J. Cullen Jr. and Daniel
R. Legeault were promoted to Lieutenant,
and the following new hires filled some of the vacancies due to retirements:
Christopher
J. Cardarelli of Smithfield, Evan J. Charello of North Kingstown, Steven J. Checrallah of East Providence, Steven A. Como of Scituate, Joshua
T. Downs of Scituate, Robert L.
Lincourt of North Providence, Todd W.
Newman of Glocester, and Shawn P.
Sloan of North Providence. Congratulations
on your new careers, and stay safe!
Jan 8, 2009 - Our condolences to Richard Quetta
(former NPFD call firefighter), on the passing on Jan 6, 2009 of his brother
Frank, a Captain on the Providence Fire Dept.
Visitation Friday, 4-8PM in the A.A. MARIANI & Son Funeral Home, 200
Hawkins St. in Providence. Funeral Saturday at 9:30 AM, followed by a Mass of
Christian burial at 11 AM in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Cathedral Sq.,
Providence. Burial in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.
Dec 13, 2008 - Annual
Christmas Dinner Party
will
be held Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 5:00 pm at Firefighter's
Memorial Hall (the old Centredale station), 1995
Smith St, North Providence. The menu will consist of
appetizers, salad, cheese ravioli and meatballs, bread, butter, soda, coffee and
dessert. Pasta will be available for those who do not eat ravioli.
Tickets are $10 each for adults, $5 for children 8 years and under, and free for
ages 3 and under. Money will be collected at the door. We also ask
that you bring a non-perishable food item for the Rhode Island Food Bank.
There will be a "Yankee Swap" gift exchange after dinner.
Suggested limit is $10 for these. A visit from Santa is also anticipated.
As well as the general public, all past and present members of the association
and the volunteer, call and career forces and their families and friends are
specifically invited to attend.
Oct 2008 -
Firemen's Memorial
Sunday
is
planned for this Sunday, October 19, 2008, at 9:00 am at the
Sep 2008 - Appointments
and Promotions:
Battalion
Chief Andrew Zarlenga was appointed to the position of Assistant
Chief. Captain
Ed Digiulio, Jr was promoted to Battalion
Chief; Lt. Bob Cardin promoted to Fire
Captain, and FF Scott Corio
promoted to Fire Lieutenant.
New hires to fill retirement vacancies are:
Andrew P. Rainville, Michael
J. Sangermano and James P.
O’Connor. Congratulations and
best wishes to all!
Sep 2, 2008 - Our
condolences to Lt. Eric Bazzle (D group, Engine 2), on the passing of his
mother. A graveside service will be
held Wednesday, September 3rd at 1:00 PM in
Aug 2008 – The
dept’s communications equipment will be upgraded in 6 months to a new 800 MHz
band trunked system (not encrypted). In
order to listen then, your scanner must be capable of receiving this range.
In the interim, the dept has switched to using the police VHF frequency
that was abandoned, 154.800 MHz, for dispatch. Fireground
will temporarily be the old dispatch channel, 154.250 MHz.
The police are already on an 800 MHz system.
Ralph Nahigian,
Director of Communications, is in charge of implementing this and a number of
other changes to dispatch.
Feb
15, 2008 - Our
congratulations to Paul Labbadia (Capt, retired), on his appointment as
fire chief of the Anthony Fire District of Coventry, RI. Paul previously
served as fire chief in
Jan
24, 2008 - Pat
Zarlenga,
former Marieville district chief, and his family have generously donated
money to purchase Pediatric Airway Management kits for the rescues. These
kits have color-coded airway compartments for quick, accurate selection of the
proper size airway. This donation is made in memory of the chief's father,
Pasquale A. Zarlenga, who died recently at age 97 and was an accomplished chef
who in his later years often made special meals for the on-duty firefighters.
Pat's son Andy is a battalion chief and son Brian is captain of Engine 2, and
his brother Richard was a call firefighter with NPFD. Thanks to the
Zarlenga family for their donation and thoughtfulness.
Jan
17, 2008 - Our
condolences to David DiIorio, on the passing of his uncle Ben, who
was a volunteer and call firefighter in the Lymansville district, as well as
Fire Chief of the DOT force at TF Green Airport. Visitation and funeral
services will be held Friday, 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the PONTARELLI-MARINO Home,
October
2007 - Firemen's
Memorial Sunday
is scheduled for Sunday, Oct 21 at 10:00 am at the Knights of Columbus
hall on
August
9, 2007 - A new
Rescue 1 vehicle
has been placed in service. Pictures will be forthcoming.
August 2007 - Congratulations
to Donald Clark, who was promoted from Battalion Chief to Assistant Chief
of Department; to Len Albanese, promoted from Captain to Battalion Chief,
to Steve L'Heureux, who was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain, and
Firefighter Joseph A. Sylvester, to Lieutenant. We wish them well
in their new positions.
August
9, 2007 - A new
Squad 1 vehicle
has been placed in service. Acquired from a PA fire dept in good
condition, it has been refurbished, painted and rigged with all the gear from
the previous squad. This rig is 39 feet long, and boasts a 6-bottle 6,000
psi cascade system for air supply; Jaws of Life and full set of airbags; fiber
optic cameras and microphones for detecting trapped collapse victims; hazardous
material response supplies; saws capable of cutting concrete slabs; cribbing and
other shoring material; acetylene torches that can burn underwater; and a
lighting tower with 4 powerful halogen lamps. Congratulations to Captain
John Cagno, the other squad officers and crew - it's been a long wait, and job
well done.
June
13, 2007 - The
fourth season of Rescue
Me begins tonight, Wed June 13, 2007 on F/X channel at 10:00 pm.
This series is a must-see. The third season ended with the cliffhanger of
Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) being trapped and disoriented in a house fire with his
girlfriend.
June
7, 2007 - A new chief of department
has been sworn in - actually returning after 10 years - Albert
J. Bertoncini.
Chief Bertoncini was retired from Providence Fire Department before his first
stint as chief of NPFD, and brings many years of experience as well as
familiarity with his new command role. Acting Chief Donald Clark returns
to his position as Battalion Chief, B Group. We wish them both every
success.
Also, our congratulations to newly-promoted Fire
Lt. John Horan of Engine 4 and Rescue
Lt. Richard Renzi. Both come from firefighting families and have
extensive experience and training. Good job, guys!
Apr
24, 2007 - Our
condolences to Michael Labbadia, and to Paul Labbadia, on the passing of their
uncle and brother, respectively. Larry
Labbadia, former career firefighter and call captain for many
years, passed away Sunday, April 22, 2007 after a long illness. His
funeral will be held on Thursday at 8:45 a.m. from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME,
1278 Park Ave., Cranston, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Thomas
Church, Fruit Hill Ave., Providence at 10 a.m. Burial will be in St. Ann
Cemetery, Cranston. VISITING HOURS Wednesday 4-8 p.m. Kindly Omit
Flowers.
January
2007 - A bid for
a new Rescue 1 truck
has been approved for 2007. Rescue 3, the reserve, will be traded in, and
the current Rescue 1 will most likely become the reserve. Details here.
Squad
1's
truck has been declared unfit for the road, and apparently beyond practical
repair.
The
retired Reserve Engine 5
(the old 1975 Maxim) has been sold and is currently being stored outside, next
to the Dunkin Donuts shop on Branch Avenue in Providence.
December 2006 - Annual
Christmas Party
was held Saturday, Dec 16, 2006 at 5:00 p.m. at the Firefighters'
Memorial Hall (old Station 1), 1995 Smith St. There was a
sumptuous meal prepared by our usual chefs, a Yankee gift swap ($10 limit on
gifts), and a visit from Santa. About 55 adults and 10 children attended.
November 2006 - Appointments
and Retirements:
Chief Steven Catanzaro retired after 34 years of firefighting. As
with most of his predecessors, he worked his way up the ranks from volunteer to
call firefighter, to career firefighter and officer. Battalion Chief
Donald Clark is the Acting Chief of Dept and shares the same roots and
experience with NPFD. We wish them both well.
Firefighters
David Milson, Bob Bell and Mitch Adams
were all promoted to Fire Lieutenant in a ceremony held on December 5, 2006.
Philip
Kennedy, Giuseppe Ruggieri and Benjamin Maimoni
were all sworn in as new members of the dept. They are recent graduates of
the fire academy. Good luck to all!
The
Centredale Fire Dept's 100th Anniversary history book is on sale. Copies
are $15 each; please see Lt. Eric Bazzle, D group, Engine 2, or click HERE
to order your copy.
Sep
27, 2006 - Our
condolences to Steve Marwell (Lt., retired NPFD) on the passing of his mother Joan.
The funeral was held at the Elliot Robbins Funeral Home, with burial in
Sep
2006 - Our
condolences to Capt. Ed Digiulio, Jr. on the passing of his mother Joan.
Aug
2006 - Squad
1's vehicle is OOS due to loss of chassis integrity with the box. It is
doubtful at this time that it will be repaired. The company is borrowing
the old Providence Special Hazards truck (a Mack) indefinitely.
Aug
23, 2006 - Our
condolences to Bernie Digiulio (retired NPFD) on the passing of his wife Maureen.
Calling hours Thursday, Aug 24 from 4-7 P.M. in the ANDERSON-WINFIELD Funeral
Home, Rte 44 at Greenville Common,
June
23, 2006 - Our
condolences to former Marieville District Chief Pasquale (Pat) Zarlenga, and his
sons BC Andy Zarlenga and Capt Brian Zarlenga, on the passing of the chief's
father at age 97. Calling hours Sunday 4-8 P.M. in the A.A. MARIANI &
SON Funeral Home,
May
2006 - The
third season of Rescue
Me begins Tuesday, May 30, 2006 on F/X channel at 10:00 pm.
This series is a must-see.
May
2006 - Congratulations
to John Wheeler on his assignment to Training and Safety Director,
succeeding Paul Labbadia, who is now Chief of Dept in
The
Centredale Fire Association held its annual Fourth of July Collation
on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 at 6:00 pm at the Firefighters'
Memorial Hall (old Station 1), 1995 Smith St. The menu included
RI clam chowder, for those who know the real thing; clamcakes, hot dogs,
hamburgers, cheeseburgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato chips, watermelon, ice cream
cones, soda and beer.
May 6, 2006 - The
Centredale
Fire Association honored the memory of its deceased members with a
wreath laying ceremony at the memorial in front of the Firefighters'
Memorial Hall (old Station 1), 1995 Smith St., on Sunday, May 21,
2006 at 10:00 a.m. A collation followed downstairs.
April 2005 - Upcoming
RI Fire Academy classes: Lt
Jeff Pacia (D group, Engine 1) and Lt Dave Destefano (D group, Engine 3) will be
teaching the following course throughout the state. Please contact the
instructors, or Kathy Hague at the RI Fire Academy, to schedule a course.
Beyond the Basics/Fireground Support
Operations
Course
title: Beyond the
Basics/Fireground Support Operations (BB-FSO)
Instructor Coordinators:
Lt.
Jeff Pacia NPFD Firejeff67@cox.net
Lt. Dave DeStefano NPFD dmd2334@cox.net
Course
Overview:
This
course is designed to build on the basic skills firefighters acquire in Level 1
and 2 programs. The goal of this
course is to make a “Streetsmart” and “Toolsmart” firefighter by
applying solid techniques and tricks-of-the-trade learned through experience.
In
the five cognitive lessons you will receive instruction in a variety of tactics
and operations ranging from routine incidents to unusual occurrences.
Emphasis will be places squarely on efficient and safe operations.
The practical skills session will enable firefighters to become more
proficient in skills that were first presented in Level 1 classes.
Goals:
Class
size is limited to 25 students with a 3:1 student to instructor ratio for the
practical.
Hours:
5 – 3 hour classroom sessions
1 – 8 hour practical session
Prerequisites:
Firefighter Level 1
Special
Requirements:
None