Todd Myers was sworn in as the eighth Chief of Department of the Simsbury (CT) Volunteer Fire Company at a ceremony celebrating the new Fire Chief and honoring the service of James Baldis, the retiring Fire Chief, who served for the last 20 years. Myers was sworn in by Simsbury Town Clerk Trish Munroe. 

Gary Wilcox, Simsbury Fire District President, recalled being Todd’s neighbor and, “you responding to call outs before you were a Cadet with your Dad in his Land Cruiser. And later, I have a picture in my office of you and I after a fire at the Murphy Apartments; I was Lieutenant on the line with you. And recently you informed me that I actually drove you in old Engine 8 to your first call out. But that’s the past and now, Todd, I will have the pleasure of calling you Chief.” 

Myers started out in the cadet program in 1993 with cadet number C-76. In 1996 he moved to a regular member with service number 367, indicating he is the 367^th member of the Fire Company. Myers has been Lieutenant and Captain at Bushy Hill station. His many certifications include to the level of Fire Officer I, Fire Service Instructor II, EPA Hazardous Materials Technician, and Emergency Medical Technician. 

Meg Myers, Todd’s wife, spoke of the family’s commitment to service above self. “Our parents and grandparents set that bar high through their work and volunteerism.” Todd’s grandfather, Stanley, was a volunteer firefighter in Simsbury for over 20 years. He became a volunteer in 1953 with the service number 43. Todd’s father, Ken, service number 93, joined in 1966 and had 49 years of service. Meg continued, “Our children, 5^th generation Simsburians, are poised to continue this stewardship of our community. Our daughter Rory will turn 15 this fall and will be eligible to become a cadet. Greyson, not too far behind her.” 

“Todd and I will celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary next month. When we were married, I didn’t immediately recognize that by that point, he’d already been in a very serious, long term, committed relationship for over 10 years. They had date night every Monday night. He could be lured away unexpectedly at all hours of the day or night by that irresistible siren call. And I grew to learn all that it means to be married to a first responder.”

Baldis is retiring with 48 years of service, 20 of those years as Fire Chief. He retires having responded to 11,993 callouts. His service number is 163. He became a Lieutenant at Bushy Hill station, but quickly moved to West Simsbury station, where he became Captain in 1993. He was 2^nd Assistant Chief for four years and Deputy Chief for five years before becoming Fire Chief. 

Jim Meade, a retired 1^st Assistant Chief, said, “I have known Chief Baldis for over 45 years. I came to know him well when he served as my Lieutenant at the West Simsbury station while I was the Captain. He always went above and beyond the call to get done what was needed, and when the positions were reversed, I was proud to serve as one of his Assistant Chiefs until my retirement.” 

The Simsbury Fire District and Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company have provided fire protection since 1944, taking over from Ensign-Bickford during the war. The Fire Company provides the volunteer firefighters and the Fire District provides the equipment and training. The Fire District appoints the Fire Chief to oversee the operations of the Volunteer Fire Company.