New Brunswick Firefighter Promoted to Lieutenant

Chris Stellatella, a firefighter with the New Brunswick Fire Department, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon at city hall.

Stellatella, New Brunswick native and a graduate of Rutgers University, joined the department in 2005 after serving as a first lieutenant with the Emergency Services Department at Rutgers, according to Mayor James Cahill.

He is also an instructor at both fire academies in Middlesex County, and will serve as the training officer for the city fire department, Cahill said. 

"To be one of New Brunswick's bravest is to be one of the best," he said.  

Stellatella, surrounded by his wife and two children, took the oath of office administered by Cahill in front of a room packed with firefighters, friends and family. 

Fire director Robert Rawls said Stellatella was the perfect fit for the perfect job at the exact right time. 

Rawls said that when he asked Stellatella what kind of a Lieutenant he wanted to be known as, he said Stellatella said he wanted colleagues to think of him as "approachable" and as a hard worker.