New Assistant Fire Chief Appointed In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — Shelly L. Carter has been appointed Assistant Fire Chief in Hamden pending the approval of the Legislative Council, Mayor Lauren Garrett announced Wednesday.

Carter will serve as Acting Assistant Fire Chief beginning Jan. 26 until her appointment is approved by the Legislative Council, according to Garrett.

Carter, who served more than 20 years with the Hartford Fire Department in various roles, is a “highly accomplished leader with an ability to multitask in times of crisis, and has an unwavering and deep commitment to community safety,” according to a news release from the Mayor’s Office.

Read more from the news release below:

Chief Carter received her Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Administration from Charter Oak State College in 2018 and further went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Anna Maria College in 2020. She also received her Executive Fire Officer Certification from the Dr. Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute in 2016, and is currently studying to obtain a Doctorate in Critical Infrastructure in Emergency Management from Capitol Technology University.

Chief Carter served the Hartford Fire Department for over 20 years as Structural Firefighter, one of the first two female Driver/Engineers in the Department’s history, Lieutenant, Certified Fire Marshal, the first Black female Captain in Operations in the Department’s history, Executive Officer, Public Information Officer (PIO), and Acting Deputy Chief. Following Chief Carter’s retirement from the Hartford Fire Department, she became the Operations and Training Manager/PIO for the State of CT’s Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection within the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

In December 2022, Chief Carter was sworn in as the first Black female Fire Chief of a Department in all the New England States. She has most recently served as the Institutional Fire Chief for the Department of Developmental Services Southbury Training School and is an Instructor for the CT Fire Academy. From Chief Carter’s various roles, she has an incredible wealth of experience creating policies, procedures, reports and budgets, and was responsible for overseeing the welfare and performance of all company personnel as well as operations, equipment, apparatus, and instruction of firefighters.

Chief Carter is the Founder and CEO of Girls Future Firefighter Camp (GFFC), a hands-on comprehensive camp for young ladies ages 13-18 established in 2015 to promote awareness and education in firefighting with an emphasis on team building and raising confidence. Chief Carter is known for creating opportunities and developing future leaders in the fire service and encompasses and embraces diversity and inclusion in emergency services intentionally and strategically.

Chief Carter has a proven ability to work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders by developing and maintaining effective partnerships with management, collective bargaining officials, public officials, community leaders, media, residents, and firefighters. She has spearheaded adaptive organizational changes to encourage community involvement and has had success in implementing large-scale projects. Chief Carter has unparalleled expertise in designing and implementing comprehensive fire safety programs and classroom and training exercises, with a demonstrable track record of improved performance of the firefighters and officers in her command.