Mayor Toni Harp officially welcomed Allyn Wright as the new fire chief at the New Haven Fire Department at a formal swearing-in ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
Chief Wright has served as Acting Chief since March. At his request the 45 new NHFD recruits, currently enrolled in fire academy classes, attended the swearing-in. They are being as a diverse and locally based group selected from 12-hundred applicants.
New Haven Fire Chief Allyn Wright said, “The department has been tested and criticized in recent years and I take the scrutiny seriously and welcome the responsibility to address these challenges and shortcomings.”
Over the last decade the New Haven fire department’s promotional exams have come under fire and discrimination lawsuits have been filed.
Wright sited promotions, morale, overtime, and diversity as his top priorities.