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Record of Proceedings

Middletown City Council Fire Department Meeting - August 3, 2026

Common Council & Commissions — Monday, August 3, 2026
BodyMiddletown, Connecticut
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateMonday, August 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 12:25

Original source
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0:00

All right, can we just do extended thank you?

0:05

We'll take attendance.

0:06

Councilman Anthony Mangiafico.

0:09

Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney.

0:11

Councilman Tony Genoro.

0:14

Linda Salafia, Council.

0:17

All right, thank you.

0:18

Next, approval of the minutes from June 15th.

0:20

Is there a motion to approve those minutes?

0:22

So moved.

0:23

Second.

0:24

Thank you, Kelly.

0:25

Thank you, Linda.

0:26

Are there any questions on the minutes?

0:29

All in favor?

0:31

Aye.

0:32

Okay, motion carries four to zero.

0:34

Thank you.

0:35

Uh public hearing is next.

0:37

Public hearing is on matters on the agenda only.

0:39

If you would like to speak, you can uh raise your hands and um probably just move up to the table next to Chief Albert.

0:47

Just say your name and address, and you have five minutes to speak.

0:50

Is there anyone who would like to speak tonight?

0:53

At the fire.

0:55

Come on.

1:03

Hello through the through the chair.

1:05

I'd just like to acknowledge that this public hearing is for the fire department agenda.

1:11

So for anybody here to speak about the flock drones, you want to wait until the police portion of the agenda.

1:20

Don't worry.

1:22

I recognize them, folks, but thank you for coming.

1:26

Is there anyone else here who would like to speak on matters on the fire agenda?

1:33

All right.

1:33

I will close that public hearing.

1:35

And I'll turn over to Chief Albert for uh his report.

1:39

All right.

1:40

Good evening, everyone.

1:40

I hope everyone's having a great summer.

1:42

I feel like since the fireworks, it's been a blur and it's already almost over.

1:47

Um, but I hope everybody's enjoying it.

1:48

Uh correspondence, I have none.

1:50

Uh monthly report, we had 335 calls.

1:54

And I just want to kind of highlight how busy, extremely busy we've been with mutual aid and major incidents in the city.

2:00

Uh since July 4th, uh, when that wave uh storms came through later that night, we had a fire in South Fire District about an hour before or right before the storm started.

2:10

During the storm, we had a river rescue.

2:12

That was a mutual aid response between three departments.

2:15

Right after the river rescue, we responded to uh a fire in Portland.

2:19

That was a second alarm.

2:20

While we were in Portland, my other crews responded to a fire in Westfield.

2:24

Uh later that night around midnight, Southernton called us for station coverage, and then at 4 a.m., Meriden called us for station coverage as well.

2:32

Uh so I just want to tip my hat to the crews that worked that night.

2:35

Um it's an extremely busy night.

2:37

It was kind of a career night for some people to be that busy and then have three fires and a river rescue plus two station coverages in a day.

2:44

Um it just shows how hard the state did get hit with that storm, and then coupled that with fireworks and people having a good time.

2:52

Um it was a recipe for disaster.

2:54

But my guys did a phenomenal job.

2:55

My chiefs did a phenomenal job.

2:57

Um our resources were stretched thin, um, you know, scattered throughout, but I'm extremely proud of my members and the work that they do every single day.

3:04

A couple days later, we had a fire in East Street.

3:07

A couple days later, we responded to two Southfire mutual aid calls.

3:10

Then we had a third alarm fire in Meredithin, and then last night, as you know, we had a fire in Westfield.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████53%
Procedural██████████████████21%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████17%
Community Engagement████████9%
Summary of Proceedings

Middletown City Council Fire Department Meeting - August 3, 2026

The City Council convened the fire department portion of the meeting on August 3, 2026, at approximately 6:45 PM. The meeting began with roll call, approval of previous meeting minutes, and a public hearing. Fire Chief Albert delivered a detailed report covering monthly statistics, major incidents, training, apparatus and facility updates, and a resolution approval.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (June 15, 2026) – Motion made, seconded, and passed unanimously (4-0) without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke on fire department agenda items. The public hearing was opened and closed with no participants.

Discussion Items

  • Fire Chief’s Monthly Report (July) – Chief Albert reported 335 fire calls for the month, with an exceptionally busy period from July 4th through mid-July. Key incidents included a river rescue, mutual aid fires in Portland, Westfield, Southington, Meriden, and a third-alarm fire in Meriden. The department also handled a Level 1 heat staffing activation. Chief Albert praised crews for handling multiple emergencies in one night.
  • Training Activities – Completed trench and rope training, marina dive training, monthly drone training, and training on a new extractor washer/dryer (obtained via CDBG funds). Middlesex Hospital provided three weeks of EMS training.
  • Overtime & Staffing – Overtime is heavy due to two light-duty assignments, one military deployment, three to four FMLA leaves, and two workers’ compensation cases. The department remains lean but fully staffed with no vacancies.
  • Apparatus Maintenance – Chief Albert reported that external repair costs are unsustainable: the department paid over $200,000 in apparatus repairs last year. The vendor’s hourly rate increased from $190 to $265, later negotiated to $230–240/hour. The administration is exploring hiring a department mechanic to keep 85–90% of repairs in-house and save money. An emergency meeting with chief of staff, HR, and public works was held.
  • Station Upgrades – New washer/dryers installed at both stations via CDBG funds. Remaining CDBG money will be used to reseal floors at HQ and Cross Street to address water intrusion. A formal bid committee is being formed for Cross Street renovations; the bid process is expected to begin in mid-August.
  • Training Building – A modular training building made of engineered shipping containers (7–8 units stacked) has been ordered. It will allow live fire training and rope rescue drills. Chief Albert plans to seek zoning approval and hold a ribbon-cutting when completed. He will share design specs with council members.
  • Resolution Approval – Chief Albert requested council sponsorship of a resolution to itemize CNR (capital non-recurring) funding for the current fiscal year, to be forwarded to the Finance and Government Committee. Councilmember Linda Salafia sponsored the motion.

Key Outcomes

  • The resolution to itemize CNR and send it to Finance and Government was approved unanimously by voice vote.
  • The fire department meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:45 PM, to be followed by the police department portion of the city council meeting.

Meeting Transcript

All right, can we just do extended thank you? We'll take attendance. Councilman Anthony Mangiafico. Councilwoman Kelly Sweeney. Councilman Tony Genoro. Linda Salafia, Council. All right, thank you. Next, approval of the minutes from June 15th. Is there a motion to approve those minutes? So moved. Second. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you, Linda. Are there any questions on the minutes? All in favor? Aye. Okay, motion carries four to zero. Thank you. Uh public hearing is next. Public hearing is on matters on the agenda only. If you would like to speak, you can uh raise your hands and um probably just move up to the table next to Chief Albert. Just say your name and address, and you have five minutes to speak. Is there anyone who would like to speak tonight? At the fire. Come on. Hello through the through the chair. I'd just like to acknowledge that this public hearing is for the fire department agenda. So for anybody here to speak about the flock drones, you want to wait until the police portion of the agenda. Don't worry. I recognize them, folks, but thank you for coming. Is there anyone else here who would like to speak on matters on the fire agenda? All right. I will close that public hearing. And I'll turn over to Chief Albert for uh his report. All right. Good evening, everyone. I hope everyone's having a great summer. I feel like since the fireworks, it's been a blur and it's already almost over. Um, but I hope everybody's enjoying it. Uh correspondence, I have none. Uh monthly report, we had 335 calls. And I just want to kind of highlight how busy, extremely busy we've been with mutual aid and major incidents in the city. Uh since July 4th, uh, when that wave uh storms came through later that night, we had a fire in South Fire District about an hour before or right before the storm started. During the storm, we had a river rescue. That was a mutual aid response between three departments. Right after the river rescue, we responded to uh a fire in Portland. That was a second alarm. While we were in Portland, my other crews responded to a fire in Westfield. Uh later that night around midnight, Southernton called us for station coverage, and then at 4 a.m., Meriden called us for station coverage as well. Uh so I just want to tip my hat to the crews that worked that night.

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