Greenwich Board Of Selectmen Appoints New Assistant Fire Chief

GREENWICH, CT — For the first time in 60-plus years, the command structure within the Greenwich Fire Department is changing.

On Thursday, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the appointment of Charles Lubowicki as the new Chief of Administration.

Lubowicki will serve as an assistant fire chief, and focus on the administration of the department and work in conjunction with Greenwich's volunteer firefighters. Current Assistant Fire Chief Brian Koczak will focus on the operations side of the department.

A request for the new position was put into the town budget last year and ultimately approved.

"I want to thank the Board for your vote, and I look forward to being part of this town and serving the constituents of Greenwich," Lubowicki said following the approval.

GFD Chief Joseph McHugh, who went before the Board on Thursday and spoke about Lubowicki's credentials, called Thursday "historic", since the GFD has operated under the same command structure of a fire chief and assistant chief for the last six decades or so.

"With the ever growing population in the town, the new construction and the growth to our fire department, we realized we needed more help," McHugh said.

McHugh said the GFD conducted a nationwide search to fill the position and reviewed about 50 candidates before narrowing the field to 12.

Lubowicki comes to Greenwich from Hamden, CT, where he served for 21 years as a volunteer firefighter, company officer, battalion chief, and most recently as assistant chief.

"He brings a lot to the table in the fire service. He's young, and we like his thinking and his vision for the fire service," McHugh said, noting that Lubowicki comes from a similar sized department in Hamden.

Lubowicki has a bachelor's degree in public fire administration, and master's degrees in emergency management and fire science. He also serves as a logistics specialist on the Massachusetts FEMA Task Force, which gets deployed to natural disasters throughout the region.

"His expertise on that will be beneficial," McHugh said.

First Selectman Fred Camillo called Lubowicki's background "impressive," and he said he liked that he comes from a town that also has career and volunteer firefighters.

More collaboration and coordination between career and volunteer departments in Greenwich has been a priority for McHugh since he was hired to replace Chief Peter Siecienski, who retired in 2020.

Selectperson Jill Oberlander said the new position was "long overdue."

"I'm glad to see that the fire department has been given the ability to actually focus on firefighting and the staffing needed to do that," she said.

Selectwoman Lauren Rabin thanked Lubowicki for his interest in Greenwich, and she welcomed him to town.