Halstead Named As Town’s New Fire Marshal

By Andrew Gorosko

As soon as he turned 16, on January 18, 1965, Bill Halstead enlisted as a Sandy Hook volunteer firefighter, starting his work in firefighting at the earliest possible age.

And he has been progressing through the ranks ever since.

On Tuesday night, the Board of Fire Commissioners named Mr Halstead the town’s new fire marshal, the successor to Fire Marshal George Lockwood, who will leave the post in January.

“I’m pretty happy. I’m excited. It’s a challenge,” said Mr Halstead in an interview Wednesday at the fire marshal’s office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills. Mr Halstead has been a town deputy fire marshal since 1984.

“I enjoy investigating a fire. Every fire is different. It’s a learning experience,” he said.

Having worked alongside fire investigators from the state fire marshal’s office has improved his investigatory skills, Mr Halstead said.

Since June 1997, when he retired as the Fairfield Hills fire chief, Mr Halstead has worked in the town fire marshal’s office with Mr Lockwood.

Mr Halstead had served as Fairfield Hills’ fire chief for 17 years, overseeing fire protection at the sprawling state psychiatric hospital. 

After leaving the Fairfield Hills fire chief post, he expanded his work as a town deputy fire marshal. Mr Halstead took over the town’s review of architectural plans for fire code compliance after Al Brinley left office as a deputy fire marshal and the town’s building inspector.

Firefighting appears to be in Mr Halstead’s blood in that he also serves as chief of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, having headed that organization since August 1978.

Mr Halstead, 51, of Cottonwood Trail, explains he comes from a long line of firefighters, with many of his male relatives having served as firemen. Female relatives have been active as women’s fire auxiliary members.

Mr Halstead’s son, B.J., is a Sandy Hook firefighter, Sandy Hook’s representative on the Board of Fire Commissioners, and a fire/ambulance dispatcher at the town’s emergency dispatch center in Edmond Town Hall.

Mr Halstead’s daughter, Karin, is a Sandy Hook firefighter, the secretary of that fire company, and an emergency medical technician.

Mr Halstead’s other daughter, Krista, is a graduate student at the University of New Haven.

Mr Halstead has set two major goals for himself as fire marshal.

He said he plans to have every building in town subject which is subject to fire code inspections inspected annually for fire safety. These buildings would include structures with three or more apartments.

That task should become somewhat simpler now that two new deputy fire marshals, Dave Ober and Rich Frampton from the Newtown Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Company, have been enlisted, Mr Halstead said.

Also, Mr Halstead plans to expand the town’s use of a computerized fire reporting system that compiles information on fire calls in a nationally-accepted format.

As the town fire marshal, Mr Halstead will be responsible for overseeing fire investigations in the town’s five fire districts – Sandy Hook, Newtown Hook and Ladder, Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown.

Besides fire investigations, fire marshals issue blasting permits, inspect service stations, inspect fuel tanker trucks, and supervise the removal of underground fuel storage tanks, among other tasks.

Mr Halstead said he hopes that in the future, fire codes will require that all new buildings – residential, commercial, and industrial – contain fire sprinklers as a fire safety measure.

A member of several fire organizations, Mr Halstead belongs to the International Association of Arson Investigators.

Kevin Cragin, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said board members unanimously endorsed hiring Mr Halstead as fire marshal. Mr Halstead’s salary will be set by the first selectman. He starts as fire marshal January 22.

Mr Cragin said other people had contacted him about the fire marshal’s post, but Mr Halstead emerged as the best person for the job.

Mr Halstead’s qualifications for the job exceeded those of the other people interested in the post, Mr Cragin said. Mr Cragin declined to identify the other people who voiced interest in the job.

Commenting on Mr Halstead’s appointment, Mr Cragin said, “I think it’s a perfect fit. He’s been in town. He’s a career fire person.” When Mr Halstead was the Fairfield Hills fire chief from 1980 to 1997, he did a “great job,” Mr Cragin said.

“I think it will work out fine,” Mr Cragin said.

Although he is retiring as the town’s first full-time fire marshal in January, Mr Lockwood plans to stay on as a deputy fire marshal. Mr Lockwood, 64, became town fire marshal in 1993 and started as the first full-time fire marshal in 1998.