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Description
City of Groton Deputy Fire Chief Robert Tompkins is promoted to Fire Chief prior to the City of Groton Mayor and Council meeting on July 2, 2018.
A
C
Been
duly
appointed
as
fire
chief
in
the
city
of
Groton,
Fire
Department,
you
solemnly
swear
or
affirm
that
you
will
faithfully
discharge
your
duties.
According
to
the
rules
and
regulations
of
the
fire
department,
the
state
of
Connecticut
law,
city
of
Groton,
Charter
and
ordinances,
and
resolutions
of
the
city
of
Groton.
You
will
serve
in
that
position
to
the
very
best
of
your
ability
so
help
you
God.
B
B
Mayor
council,
colleagues,
friends,
thank
you
very
much.
The
show
supports,
overwhelming
and
humbling
I
stand
before
you
reaching
the
pinnacle
of
my
career,
becoming
the
chief
of
the
city,
Groton
Fire,
Department,
I'm
thankful
for
the
mayor
and
the
council,
and
the
confidence
they've
shown
in
me
to
lead
this
department.
I'd
be
negligent
if
I
did
not
start
by
mentioning
that
making
this
climb
is
never
a
journey.
One
takes
alone.
B
Many
people
have
influenced
my
career
from
my
first
exposure
to
fire
fighting
through
Roger,
my
brother
and
Roger
Thayer,
my
brother-in-law,
to
the
early
officers
that
I
worked
with
Ellis
Hartmann,
David
branch,
chief
Howser,
who
hired
me
and,
of
course,
chief
Kalia,
who
I
worked
with
for
20
years.
Truly
everyone
with
whom
I
have
worked
has
had
an
impact
on
the
type
of
chief
I
will
be
whether
the
person
be
a
superior
or
a
new
firefighter.
B
They
showed
me
by
Wotton
by
my
watching
some
things
that
I
will
do
and
some
things
that
I
won't
do
I'd,
not
start
my
career
with
the
desire
to
be
chief
when
Rogers.
They
are
first
asked
me
if
I
wanted
to
be
a
volunteer
and
I
just
could
not
fathom
who
would
want
to
get
up
in
the
middle
of
the
cold
dark
night
to
go
to
a
call,
but,
as
is
evident
by
this
presentation
and
this
promotion,
that
desire
certainly
grew
over
the
years.
I
have
always
had
a
great
love
for
the
city
of
Groton.
B
B
What
also
developed
was
not
only
my
desire
to
make
this
department
the
best,
but
also
my
understanding
on
what
was
needed
to
do
just
that,
what
type
of
leadership,
what
decisions,
what
policies,
naturally
with
any
transition,
comes
opportunity
the
opportunity
to
reevaluate
reshape
refocus,
to
take
a
good,
honest,
look
at
what's
working
and
what's
not.
This
is
the
time
for
our
department
to
zero
in
on
what
is
important
and
to
be
sure,
all
we
do
is
direct
it
to
that
end.
B
I
could
stand
here
and
give
specific
details
to
what
the
future
holds
for
this
department,
but
in
reality
it
comes
down
to
this.
It
is
my
goal
as
chief
of
this
department
to
be
sure
we
are
doing
all
that
we
can
to
be
responsible
stewards
of
our
service
and
to
perform
to
the
best
of
our
ability
so
that
the
citizens
of
the
city
of
Groton
are
well
protected.
B
The
graded,
your
greatest
asset
of
this
department,
as
it
always
has
been,
is
the
firefighters
who
vigilantly
watch
over
the
city
of
Groton
through
their
dedication
and
training.
You
can
rest
assured
that
you
are
in
good
hands
and
I
promised
this
today
to
the
firefighters.
There
will
be
the
number-one
priority
of
this
department
to
make
sure
that
you
go
home
safe
from
every
shift
to
your
family
and
loved
ones.
B
I'm
sure
you
could
ask
each
one
of
my
children,
they
could
tell
you
the
birthday,
I
missed
or
the
Christmas
I
wasn't
there
or
whatever
that
special
occasion
may
be,
but
they've
always
been
supportive
and,
of
course.
Lastly,
my
best
friend
Bonnie,
who
has
always
stood
by
me,
cheered
me
on
helped
me
to
write
a
speech.