South Windsor Fire Marshal Retires

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — Walter Summers ended a 20-year run as South Windsor's fire marshal Wednesday, but he is not leaving the fire service behind.

The South Windsor Fire Department announced Summers' departure in a retirement tribute, saying he will become the fire marshal in Naples, Florida.

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Summers became South Windsor's fire marshal in February 2006, according to his professional profile. He had already spent nearly a decade as Somers' fire marshal, beginning in July 1996.

His fire service career dates to March 1980, when he joined the Hazardville Fire Department in Enfield as a volunteer firefighter. A department archive identifies Summers among the firefighters who responded to the Broad Brook Mill fire in 1986.

Summers moved to the Thompsonville Fire Department in 1987 and remained there as a firefighter until taking the South Windsor position in 2006. Town records also list him as South Windsor's deputy emergency management director.

During his time in South Windsor, Summers worked closely with the fire department on investigations, building plan reviews and other fire-safety matters. The department also credited him with supporting projects that benefited the volunteer department, including through his work with the town's Capital Projects Committee.

His work extended beyond South Windsor. Summers was listed as first vice president of the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association in 2016 and served as one of the organization's co-legislative representatives in 2026. In that role, he regularly submitted testimony to state lawmakers on fire codes, inspections and other public-safety issues.

"We are extremely happy for Walter and wish him all the best in his next chapter," the department said.

A successor was not named in Wednesday's announcement.

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