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Assistant Fire Chief Says Farewell After 29 Years

Tribune photo by ANDY JONES

New Port Richey Fire Department Assistant Chief John Thela, left, works with other firefighters during a recent training exercise. Thela is retiring from the department at the end of May.

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By DAVID SOMMER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - A long and stable chapter in the history of the city's Fire and Emergency Services department moved a step nearer to its close this weekend.

After 14 years in the management post and 29 years as a city firefighter, Assistant Chief John Thela retires today.

His boss and good friend, Chief Dan Azzariti, plans to retire at the end of September after 13 years at the helm of a department he will have served for a little more than 30 years.

On Thursday, Azzariti joined firefighters from throughout Pasco County at a going-away party in city hall that featured a cake and presents, including a gold-colored fire ax bearing a company shield marked with the length of Thela's service.

"Presented to John E. Thela in appreciation of 29 years of service. April 30, 1979 - May 31, 2008," read the inscription on a wooden rack built to hold the large ax.

Meanwhile, City Manager Thomas A. O'Neill contemplated the change in leadership of the city's firefighters.

"We will consolidate responsibilities, and we do have a hiring freeze," O'Neill said of the likelihood that Thela's position will remain unfilled for now.

However, Azzariti's retirement likely will result in someone's promotion, the city manager said.

"We will have a fire chief. My first preference will always be to fill a position from within."

O'Neill acknowledged the dual retirements at the top of the city firefighting payroll will help the city deal with budget cuts required by the passage of Amendment 1.

"Of course we hate to lose them, but we are in a time of tight budgets," the city manager said. "We have to make do with less."

'He's Got Your Back'

At his going-away party, Thela's friends and co-workers lined up to sing his praises.

"We went to fire school together" as rookies in 1979, recalled Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello of Pinellas County Fire Rescue.

Although the two chose different employers, their careers have run a parallel course, Ciccarello said.

"We've been sort of shadowing each other ever since" graduation, he said.

Mary Rabelo, systems coordinator for New Port Richey's fire force, said she will miss Thela after working with him for 28 years.

"He's got your back," she said, a sentiment repeatedly echoed.

"John enjoys being hands-on," retired city firefighter Rory Hokanson said. As assistant chief in charge of training and fire rescue operations, Thela "didn't tell you to do things, he was the one who showed you how to do things."

Thela would come out to every fire, even the small ones, Hokanson said.

Fire Marshal Alex Onishenko, who will be the highest-ranking member of the department when Azzariti retires, recalled that Thela was his first lieutenant when Onishenko joined the department 20 years ago.

"He's the guy you wanted by your side," the fire marshal said. "If things are bad, he'll be the first man that stands behind you."

Thela said he was born to be a firefighter.

All the men in his family joined the volunteer department of his hometown in upstate New York, and Thela, who soon will turn 55, did the same in 1970 at age 16.

To make a living in New York state, Thela worked as a park ranger. He eventually followed a friend to Florida in search of a full-time job in firefighting.

"It was an enjoyable job, but my heart was always with my hometown fire department," he said of his ranger days.

Back then, volunteer fire companies were almost as much about socializing as they were about fighting fires, he said. Now, everything about the industry revolves around safety or the failed attempts to achieve it.

"We just can't seem to break the threat of killing over 100 firefighters a year" throughout the United States, Thela said.

"I use killing as a term to encapsulate everything we do wrong. Firefighters sometimes do dumb things, and sometimes people do dumb things that endanger firefighters," he said.

Retirement Won't Be All Leisure

Thela expects to remain active in the firefighting industry. The first thing he plans to do in retirement is travel to the New York State Fire Chiefs Conference, where he will meet with old friends and family members.

Then it will be a trek to Mississippi, where volunteers with firefighting backgrounds are helping to rebuild a town destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Although he eventually may seek another firefighting job, Thela said he has no intention of "double-dipping" by going back to work in New Port Richey while collecting retirement pay.

"I put my time in here, and there are people just as good as me, if not better, waiting in the wings," he said. "It's time for them to move up and share their new ideas."

Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 815-1087 or dsommer@tampatrib.com.

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