The Fall River Fire Department held a promotional ceremony on March 7, 2024, to celebrate the promotions of eight individuals, including the new Fall River Fire Chief, Jeff Bacon. The event commenced with opening remarks, an invocation by Father Michael Racine, and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chief Rick Agar. Mayor Paul Coogan offered congratulations, praising the city's "five-star" fire, police, and EMS departments. Chief Jeff Bacon was officially sworn in and pinned by his wife, Maya, with his son, Jack, also present. In his address, Chief Bacon outlined his vision for the department, centered on the principles of "learn, grow, and serve," emphasizing continuous learning, mentorship, and expanded community engagement. The ceremony continued with the individual pinning and swearing-in of Deputy Chief Neil Fado, District Chiefs JP Peard and David Jennings Jr., Captains Timothy Delz and Jonathan Medeiros, and Lieutenants Bruce Alves and Alexander Aruda. Deputy Chief Neil Fado was pinned by his father, Manny Fado. District Chief JP Peard was pinned by retired Lieutenant Gerard Vaves. District Chief David Jennings Jr. was pinned by his wife Danielle, daughter Ryan, and son Nash. Captain Timothy Delz was pinned by retired Fall River Fire Chief John Lynch. Captain Jonathan Medeiros was pinned by his wife Ashley Medeiros. Lieutenant Bruce Alves was pinned by his girlfriend Elaine Paradise. Lieutenant Alexander Aruda was pinned by his godson Connor, with assistance from his brother Matthew. All newly promoted officers then took their oath of office. The ceremony concluded with closing remarks from Deputy Chief Fado and an invitation to a reception at the Eagle Event Center at 35 North Main Street.
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hold the Applause holy Applause good evening esteemed colleagues honored guests and distinguished firefighters it is with great pride and reverence That We Gather to celebrate and recognize The Bravery dedication and unwavering commitment of our Fall River fire department as we embark on this promotional C ceremony let us reflect on the selflessness and sacrifice embodied by those who serve and let us honor
0:37those who are about to embark on a new chapter in their firefighting journey together let us pay tribute to their exceptional service and pledge our continued support as they rise to new heights in their Noble calling in keeping with the honored traditions of the Fall River fire department tonight we'll be recognizing and celebrating the promotions of Two Fire lieutenants Two Fire captains two
1:07District Fire Chiefs one Deputy Fire Chief and a new Fall River fire chief chief Jeff bacon welcome and thank you for joining us on this momentous occasion at this time I'd like to introduce Father Michael rine for fire department chaplain for our opening prayer
1:39it's only 17 pages long no As We Gather this evening to begin this new era of administration of our newly appointed fire chief Jeff bacon we ask God's blessings upon him as he begins his role to lead for River fire to Department we give thanks for his saying yes and ask that he always remain focused on the many duties and responsibilities that will require him to be alert of every
2:14occasion knowing the precious lives that so often depend on the decisions that he will make we ask you to give him the wisdom and understanding to discern what needs to be done on each occasion we ask you to bless our department that lies under his jurisdiction may he make wise and fair decisions knowing at times that they will be difficult we also ask you blessings upon his family who continue each day to play
2:50a major role particularly for meire and forj knowing at times this position can cause strain and weariness particularly knowing the obligation to keep unsociable hours away from home for the good of the community and the department keep them strong in faith in the ups and downs that may occur We Gather also in gratitude this evening for those who have been asked and accepted and will be promoted to the
3:24new ranks to help in this new Administration the Far River Fire Department particularly firefighter Alex Ruda and firefighter Bruce ales to the ranks of Lieutenant lieutenants Jonathan Medeiros and Timothy delz to the ranks of Captain captains David Jennings Jr and captains JP peard to the ranks of District Chiefs and District Chief Neil Fatar to the rank of deputy chief these new ranks you you have
3:59earned through your hard work and respect from your peers will require more leadership responsibility and guidance we give you thanks for their service and ask your blessings upon their new ranks that they are about to pursue may they continue to give graciously to their peers through example and work by the guidance of the members of this department and most importantly ask the holy spirit to guide
4:29them in all decision making process we ask you contined blessings upon our department our chief and all of our firefighters in the work that they do each day watch over them daily and protect and bring them safely to their families after each shift
4:58amen at this time Chief Rick agar Fall River EMA will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance please stand
5:24flag andice at this time mayor Coogan for his
5:41remarks of I just want to say a couple of quick things uh this is my third fire chief I've worked with we're extremely blessed in the city of PA River to have a five-star fire department a fstar police department and a five-star program with EMS these guys go around the CL some of them aren't even here able to join us tonight because they were called the duty about an hour and a
6:04half ago that's what we need and that's the commitment they make Jeff will be my third Chief I've worked with uh every one of them brought something different to the job and anybody that knows Jeff knows he's going to bring something different also so it's going to be a pleasure to work with him and all the guys getting promoted tonight I want to offer city of fall Riv a congratulations
6:24I know you deserve it and I wish you guys nothing but the best at this time I'd like to call up Chief bacon his wife Maya and his son jack to uh give them the pledge so that they are officially scorn in as chief of the for fire depart and obviously Maya will pin him after the pledge raise your right hand I state your name I Jeffrey BAC to solemnly swear to solemnly swear that I
6:58will support the Constitution of the United States of America that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that I will obey all the laws that I will obey all the laws and ordinances and ordinances of the city of Fall River of the city of Fall River that I will learn obey and uphold that I
7:21will learn obey and uphold the rules and regulations the rules and regulations of the fori upon it of the for fire department and that I will Faithfully serve the city of Fall River and that I will Faithfully serve the city of Fall River in the discharge of my duties as and the discharge of my duties as fire chief to the best of my knowledge and ability to the best of my knowledge and
7:45ability so help me God so help me God Maya you may
7:58now
8:21first I'd like to thank the city council for allowing us to use the chambers the outpouring is amazing as uh expected actually more than we than we bargained for so it's so nice to see everybody here today um I want to thank the mayor for being here um father Racine and chief agar um but most importantly I want to thank everyone for coming to support this new group of off officers
8:43being promoted everyone here is a member of the team that got these seven men here today the process of being promoted is stressful at best and none of these offices could have done it without the support of friends and family like you give yourselves a round of applause I'd like to start off with three words that I'm hoping will Define my tenure as fire chief learn grow and serve you'll
9:11be hearing and seeing these words from me a lot with hopes they will spread throughout the department to start to defi to Define who we are learn grow and serve will be the challenge motivation and blueprint to guide the Fall River fire department into the future learn I recently reread a memo that I had sent to the crew of engines 7 when I was promoted to Captain and assigned there in
9:372009 a photo of it was texted to me by Lieutenant Josh Josh hetler I was blown away that he still had the original paper copy Engine 7 had been closed during layoffs and reopened with the youngest and least experienced crew on the job the memo spoke to the crew about expectations seek knowledge train hard work hard and don't complain pretty much standard jargon for new captain addressing his
10:07crew but in rereading it there was one expectation that stood out because I didn't remember writing it that expectation to make mistakes it reads have no fear of making them and failing they will make you a better firefighter and person there is no problem making small mistakes the problem lies in repeating your M your mistakes especially the big ones I've since found out that there are many ways to learn
10:41making mistakes owning them and learning from them has been a powerful experience in my career I challenge every member of the Fall River fire department to be vulnerable enough to make mistakes confident enough to own them wise enough to learn from them and strong enough to teach others about them so that we can all grow together as a department grow growth in the fire service begins
11:11from the day you enter the academy until the day you decide to retire you can grow from Gaining knowledge and you can grow from your experiences you'll grow much more quickly from the knowledge and experience of more senior members of the department the challenge to grow isn't just for the Junior Firefighters it's a challenge to more senior firefighters and officers to take personal stock in the growth of junior
11:34members I will be challenging senior firefighters to become mentors to the Junior Firefighters and Senior officers to do the same for junior officers I will challenge them to take less experienced firefighters into their confidence and talk to them about respect responsibility and tradition growth is not found in punishment it's a product of coaching mentoring setting expectations and following
12:01through officers are important leaders on and off the fire ground but senior firefighters are the most important everyday leaders on the fire department they set the tone in the stations and they provide the example of work ethic and the key to growth for the junior members on the job serve every member of the Fall River fire department took an oath to serve the people of the city of Fall River
12:24when they started this job I can't imagine a fire department that serves it Community better than ours for the job that we are asked to do I always tell Crews after fires that they are too good at what they do to make the news great stops don't make for great press and 90% of the fires in the city of Fall River are great stops most likely including the one tonight I remember a conversation with a
12:50Boston fire captain once where he told me how much he respect he had for the Fall River fire department he lives in the area and has seen our work firsthand he tells his crews in Boston it's easy to show up to a fire with 60 to 80 firefighters and put it out you want a challenge go to Fall River and do it with 16 and do the job just as well and I'd argue
13:13better I challenge the members of this department to continue to be the best firefighters in the area and I expect that not to change but being excellent firefighters is the bare minimum of the service that we should be providing to the citizens of Fall River we can't just be public servants when we are at work the needs of the citizens of the city are far greater than that we need to
13:35start asking what we can do for our citizens to make their lives better there are so many excellent community-based organizations in the city looking for partners my goal is that together our department will make will take our incredible work ethic and use it to volunteer serve and further connect with the citizens of our city learn grow and serve I cannot possibly name all the
14:01firefighters that taught me how to learn grow and serve in my career they know who they are but I would be remiss if I did not mention my first lieutenant Jeffrey leage who planted the seed of knowledge and encouraged me to learn everything I could on the job District Chief James melon Who lit a fire under me encouraged me to grow as an officer and firefighters firefighter Thomas Chippendale who was my model of
14:25service for everything he did sorry and has done to make people's lives better whiz Tom I saw him here earlier whiz Tom I can't express you how excited and proud I am to have the opportunity to promote a group of leaders who will help the fire department learn and grow while serving the citizens of Fall River I'm proud of you for all the hard work you've put in throughout your careers
14:58and challenge you all to continue to do so in your new positions so without further Ado we can get to the most important portion of the program pinning and swearing in the next leaders of the Fall River fire department I'm G to call you guys down one at a time to get pinned so come on down with whoever's going to be pinning you and when I call your name uh the
15:25floor is yours the moment is yours whoever wants to come down take pictures just get what get whatever pictures and and don't miss them because you don't want to miss out on this opportunity so the first person I want to call down is Deputy Chief Neil Fado joined by his parents Manny and Phyllis Fado and being pinned by his father
15:57Manny
16:27e
16:40next I'm going to call down District Chief JP peard being pinned by retired Fall River Fire Fire Fall River fire department Lieutenant Gerard
16:57vaves
17:33next this will be an adventure District Chief David Jennings Jr it's gonna be a family pinning we're gonna try right his wife Danielle Jennings daughter Ryan and Son Nash
17:57Jennings
18:15I told you it'd be an adventure Barrett you want to grab his crutches don't fall over
18:56next Captain Timothy Delo being pinned by by retired Fall River fire chief John
19:27Lynch
19:51next Captain Jonathan madus being pinned by his wife Ashley madus
20:28next Lieutenant Bruce Alves being pinned by his girlfriend Elaine
20:57Paradise
21:05and last but certainly not least Lieutenant Alexander Aruda being pinned by his godson Connor possibly with assistance from his brother
21:27Matthew
22:23that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the of Massachusetts that I will obey the laws that I obey the laws and ordinances of the city of Fall River and ordinances of the city of river that I will learn obey and uphold Le oby and uphold the rules and regulations of the Fall River fire
22:52department the rules and regulations of the Fall River fire department and that I will Faithfully serve the city of Fall River and Faithfully serve the city of river in the discharge of my duties as in the discharge of my duties as lien to the best of my knowledge and ability to the best of my knowledge and ability so help me God God
23:26congratulations
23:56te okay all the officers who were just appointed come see firefighter Castro before you leave before we head out so again I'm deputy chief Neil Fado it's been an absolute honor being here with all of you I would like to say that I've worked with all of the firefighters who have been promoted today and that the city of Fall River is fortunate to have all of them as leaders on the fire department to the newly appointed
24:33officers remember never stop learning never stop training and never stop inspiring the men and women of the forward fire department so I knew my speech would be the best it because it's closing uh so everyone here is invited to join us at the Eagle Event Center located at 35 North Main Street to continue the celebration uh again thank you so much for attending today's uh promotion ceremony and those who were
25:01just promoted make sure you see Castro you're not going to get paid hey thank you all