Former Stamford Fire Chief Takes Over Stratford Department

As a young U.S. Navy sailor 45 years ago, Machinist’s Mate Robert McGrath served on his ship’s damage control team, which necessitated his attending several firefighting courses.

"That whetted my appetite for firefighting and I decided to make a career out of it after I got out of the service," said McGrath, who took over as Stratford’s new fire chief on Sept. 13.

After rising through the ranks from firefighter to lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and finally chief of the Stamford Fire Department, McGrath, who will be 65 next month, retired in July after 41 years, but then applied for the position in Stratford and got it.

He will be paid a $95,000 salary, but no health benefits, which he receives as part of his retirement from the Stamford Fire Department. He still lives in Stamford, but he said the "reverse commute" in the opposite direction of most of the morning and evening rush hour traffic is a definite plus.

McGrath said since he started last Tuesday, he has been reviewing department procedures and touring the Stratford firehouses, and he said he likes what he sees.

"It’s a very well-organized, well-run department," he said.

The Stamford Fire Department has almost three times as many firefighters as Stratford, and Stratford has few high rise buildings, unlike Stamford.

McGrath said Stratford is like Stamford was 40 years ago. But there are some similarities and his background will come in handy in his new job.

Not only is he experienced running a department and managing its budget, but McGrath headed up the Stamford Fire Department’s hazmat response team earlier in his career.

He said that's important because Stratford, like Stamford, straddles I-95 and the Metro-North Railroad, which are transportation resources used to transport hazardous materials on a regular basis.

Another eerie similarity is that both departments had fire trucks destroyed in accidents on I-95 during snowstorms last winter, he said.

McGrath said he is well-acquainted with Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who was mayor of Stamford while he was fire chief.

Malloy has appointed McGrath as one of the members of the S.T.O.R.M. Irene (State Team Organized for the Review of Management) panel, formed to assess the emergency response to Tropical Storm Irene and make recommendations for improvements.

Stratford was one of the shoreline communities that received a battering by the storm, which arrived with its strongest winds and storm surge at the same time as the new moon tide, the highest high tide of the month.