Fire Chief Feted For 50 Years Of Service, Announces Retirement

ENFIELD, CT — It was May 17, 1971. Richard Nixon was in his first term as president; Enfield Square opened with anchor stores G. Fox & Co., JCPenney and Steiger's; and Enfield High School students were on double sessions in anticipation of the opening of the brand new Enrico Fermi High School later that year.

A junior high school student named Charlie Macsata celebrated his 16th birthday on that date not with a party, but by becoming an official member of the North Thompsonville Fire Department cadet program. He had grown up on Woodlawn Avenue, across the street from the firehouse.

"I got my gear on my 16th birthday," Macsata said Monday in an exclusive interview with Patch.

Fast forward a half-century, and Macsata, chief of the Shaker Pines Fire Department for the past 14 years, was feted by his firefighter brethren Saturday night on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of fire service. The department's annual banquet at Twin Hills Country Club included a huge surprise for the chief - a testimonial in his honor, including presentation of a ceremonial bell.

"They brought in my two sons, my daughter and their spouses," he said. "I had no idea whatsoever what was going on."

Fire service runs in Macsata's bloodlines. His maternal grandfather, Charles Martin, was deputy chief in North Thompsonville, and his father, Fred Macsata, joined the department in 1953 and served as chief from 1963 to 1965. Macsata's brothers - Fred Jr., Francis and Jay - have all been firefighters.

After turning 18, Macsata became a regular member at North Thompsonville in late 1973. He graduated from Fermi in 1974, and was named the department's Firefighter of the Year in 1975. He rose through the ranks over the next two decades, serving as engineer, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief/training officer. He was also appointed fire safety code inspector and then deputy fire marshal, and obtained his EMT certification.

Upon the departure of Shaker Pines Fire Chief Thaddeus J. Soltys II in 2007, Macsata was hired to fill that position, and immediately began bolstering the department by adding many more volunteers.

"It was tough leaving North Thompsonvbille after 36 years, but I thought the opportunity was here, and it's worked out tremendously." he said. "On my first day at Shaker Pines, [former longtime chief] Ray Aiken was waiting at the door for me, and said he had to show me the district. He drove around for four or five hours, showing me wooded areas, houses tucked back from the road - a lot of good information. Ray was truly a gentleman, a mentor and a teacher to me."

His tenure will soon come to an end, however, as Macsata has announced he will retire at the close of 2021.

"I have no regrets whatsoever, it's the greatest career ever," he said. "When you get a chance to go to work every day and you look forward to going there, that's extremely satisfying."

Over the years, Macsata has been involved in helping fight a number of large blazes, including an explosion at Keller Oil in 1974, the destruction of the Browne Building on Pearl Street in 1979 and several fires at Yankee Castings, located behind the Bacon Road fire station. He vividly recalled a Dec. 26, 2010 fire in a combined commercial/residential building at the corner of Pearl and High streets, which emergency personnel battled for more than five hours despite blizzard conditions.

The worst day of Macsata's tenure came on Oct. 24, 2012, when a house fire on Hassmar Road claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl.

"That was a black day in my career," he recalled. "By the time the call came in, the entire house was fully involved. Three of my guys went to the hospital after the back deck collapsed. It was a terrible day."

Many of Macsata's associates shared their thoughts about the chief with Patch.

• "Charlie makes everyone around him feel comfortable. He has a special gift of being able to relate to anyone, no matter what walk of life, no matter what social or economic status they may have. He turns enemies into friends, and friends into family, and it is just one of the things I admire about him." - Deputy Chief Jim Nolan
• "Charlie has been a mentor and a friend since day one. We have fought a lot of fires together, and he is a great fire officer. Charlie is a life member here at North Thompsonville, he still attends events here and the members all consider Charlie their friend and always look forward to sharing old stories with him when they see him. Charlie has done a great job as chief at Shaker Pines, and it has been great to work with him at incidents and in our planning meetings. We still work with him as closely today as we have throughout, and all of us here at North Thompsonville congratulate Chief Charlie Macsata on his fifty years of service to the town of Enfield fire service." - Chief Earl Provencher, NTFD
• "Charlie has been more than a mentor to me. He is part of my family. He has the ability to bring out the very best in people and has pushed me to excel in all I do. This is the greatest job in the world and I was taught by the best in the business. The world would be a better place if everyone had a chance to sit and talk with him." - Capt. Ed Prajzner
• "When I first met Charlie, I was a 19-year-old lost and looking for my place in life. I saw a volunteer sign out front and stopped in and received an application. I turned my application in, and Charlie sat me down in his office and said, “If you put everything you have into this with the people that are here at Shaker Pines, you are bound for great things”. Little did I know where this would take me. Charlie has a talent for bringing out the best in people they never knew they had. He is always making sure his staff, and anybody tied to this department are always representing themselves respectfully and proud to be part of this department. He is responsible for making many hard-working men and women that are in the fire service today. He is a mentor I wish everyone could have had growing up. His knowledge on the fire service is more vast than any book or internet site could teach. Fifty years of one thing is a big accomplishment; 50 years in the fire service is not just a single person accomplishment, he did it with his wonderful wife Jaimeand his family. We thank you for your service, and it's an honor to serve a sliver of those 50 years with you." - Lt. Raymond Rodriguez
• "The first impression I had when I met the chief was that I may have met him before. He has a way of conversing with people, even complete strangers, that will put them at ease. A business representative calls the station to sell products or services, and the chief will have the person telling stories of their last vacation before they are done. The chief is a leader that you want to work with. He clearly sets the objectives and what he wants achieved. There is little discussion needed, and we want to accomplish those goals. He also has a way of getting our attention with a word or gesture, so that you know you need to react. We have worked through some tragic incidents over the years, and the chief will be sure to check on us personally. If we need anything, his door is always open. The environment we work in starts at the top. The chief makes it easy to have fun and still focus on the job. He is willing to back us in training classes and gives us the opportunities to attend. He is a mentor to most of us and not just on the fire ground. He has tips on life and stories to learn from. We have had many opportunities outside of work to see the personal side of the chief. Family is not only important for him, he also expresses that our families should come first. All of our kids know the firehouse and Chief Charlie. Lastly, Charlie is a friend. We help each other at our homes as needed. We share social events. Our families know one another. Our kids always visit Charlie’s house on Halloween. He attends weddings during the good times and funerals during the bad times. His job comes with a large amount of responsibility. His support of us makes that look easy." - Lt. Chris Davis

The final words come from Macsata himself.

"I've been very lucky with my family. Many times I wasn't able to take my kids to a baseball game or soccer game because I was away, but without their support and my wife's support, I would never be where I am today. They've always been very supportive of my involvement with the fire department."

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