Chelsea holds unofficial ceremony to swear in firefighters and mark Engine 4’s return

Chelsea City held an unofficial ceremony during a council meeting without a quorum to swear in four new firefighters and promote nine company officers, the fire chief said. The event also marked the full return to service of Engine 4, a longtime symbol of the department's restored capacity.

Fire Chief (name not specified) opened the program and described the evening as “a truly historic and proud moment for our city and for our department,” saying the department would swear in four new firefighters and promote nine company officers. He said the city’s fire department had suffered deep cuts more than 35 years ago while the city was in receivership and that restoring Engine 4 was a milestone in rebuilding local emergency response capacity.

“The reactivation of Engine 4 and the appointments and promotions that we celebrate tonight are a direct result of an unwavering team effort,” the chief said, thanking the city manager and members of the city council for their support.

The chief said Engine 4 was placed back in service on a trial basis in June and was recommissioned to permanent, full-time service in September, a change he said has “strengthened our ability to respond to emergencies, reduced our reliance on mutual aid, and most importantly, it's enhanced the protection of the community.”

Deputy Chief Robert Denning and other newly promoted officers took the oath of office during the program. Denning repeated the oath to “faithfully and impartially perform all the duties” of his office and concluded, “So help me God.” The chief then called up captains, lieutenants and firefighters in sequence; family members and fellow firefighters participated in traditional pinning ceremonies.

The ceremony included the following personnel announcements made by the chief: Deputy Chief Robert Denning; Captains Robert Better (transcript also shows “Begley”) and David Bishop; Lieutenants Chad LeBlanc, David Ashey, Jonathan Morrell, Kyle Brown, Galvin Marranco and Kevin O’Keefe; and firefighters Kyle Sikora, John Bateman, Patrick Cronin and Kevin Morell/Moreau. Family members from nearby departments, including Everett and Winchester, were named as pinners for some of the sworn members.

The meeting had no quorum for formal action, and the chief’s remarks and the swearing-in were presented as a ceremonial program rather than council votes or official appointments taken at a binding council session.

The ceremony closed with the chief congratulating the newly sworn members and thanking city leadership for continued support. No formal council votes or policy decisions were recorded during the session.