Catching Up With Chip Carpenter

For three decades former Monroe Fire Marshal Anthony "Chip" Carpenter has fought fires and figured out how they started.

 Now he is sharing that experience with construction and industrial companies to meet federal safety standards and prevent work related injuries.

Carpenter, 59, began his career in 1969 in Milford as a volunteer firefighter with the Point Beach Fire Department while working as a truck driver for Daddario Industries and attending Norwalk Technical Community College to study fire administration.

Carpenter said during a training seminar in the late 1980's he met Lee Hitchcock, Monroe's fire marshal at the time and discovered they worked well together.

Hitchcock saw Carpenter's interest in fire administration and mentored him and brought him on as a part-time deputy in the department with no pay for two years.

In exchange for work and experience, Carpenter attended state fire marshal training with sponsorship from the town.

 "I didn't become bored with firefighting, but I wanted to get to the next step," he said. "My goal was to become a full time fire marshal."

In 1990 when Hitchcock announced his retirement, Carpenter interviewed for the position and was hired by then First Selectman Ken Heitzke.

 "I think everyone in the state of Connecticut must have heard me yell," he said. "It was the best day of my life."

As the town's fire marshal until 2004, Carpenter led fire investigations, conducted inspections, issued permits, enforced regulations, provided safety training, was a member of the town's safety committee and the town's Occupational  Safety & Health Administration representative.

However, what Carpenter loved most about the position was the daily unpredictable excitement that came with the job.

Carpenter, who is also a licensed paramedic, recalled a day when he delivered a baby in a Monroe resident's home responding to a medical call because both the town's ambulances were already busy.

"It was something new every single day," he said. "Not knowing what each day would bring made the job exciting."

 Moving Onward and Upward

 After leaving the position after 14 years, Carpenter worked as a part-time operations manager for a family-owned construction company while working as safety director for Waters Construction Company.

Carpenter also remained current with several certifications including fire fighting instruction and investigation, hazardous material handling and first aid training. 

 In January, Carpenter pursued a full time endeavor with his own business, C Health Linx, LLC a company he started on a part-time basis in 1980.

Today he works as a consultant in OSHA standards and as an instructor providing safety training for small to medium size businesses.

State law requires that municipal, state and federal employees are mandated to have a minimum of 10 hours of OSHA safety training.

C Health Linx, operated solely by Carpenter, provides 10-hour and 30-hour training programs for basic fire protection, first aid, first responder certification and handling hazardous materials for construction and industrial companies.

C Health Linx also provides a two-hour class explaining OSHA standards to business owners and management.

"Most people don't understand what OSHA does," he said. "OSHA is there to protect the employer and the employee."

Carpenter said he has built up the company's website but said his reputation is helping him along the way as well.

"A majority of my business comes by word of mouth," he said.

 Home and Family Life

 Carpenter, who lived in Monroe while he was fire marshal, now lives in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown with his wife Diane Thompson, who is a chief financial officer for lecturers and speakers with Wolfman Productions  in Southbury.

Besides spending time with his daughters Corinne Thompson, Melissa Onofrey, Audrey Valenzuela and his four grandchildren, Carpenter still remains active with the Dodgingtown Fire Department as its treasurer.

Carpenter was recently diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his legs and pulmonary embolisms in his lung.

Doctors have recommended he limit his activities, but that has not doused his burning desire to be a part of the action.

Carpenter said he is currently looking for opportunities as a fire/police officer to be involved with the emergency team.  

"I would still be part of the action, but out of harm's way," he said. "It would be nice to remain active in my own town."

For more information about C Health Linx, visit www.chealthlinx.com or call (203) 650 4452.