Aug. 06--Monday was a big day at the Norwalk Fire Department.
The station had several dozen visitors to celebrate four promotions. John Soisson was sworn in as chief while Capt. Mike Alexander was promoted to secretary of fire. Brett Beers was sworn in as a captain and Aaron Lynch was promoted to lieutenant.
"We're excited to be involved with these promotions today," said Norwalk Mayor Rob Duncan, who handled each of the swearing-in ceremonies.
Duncan said Soisson, who underwent a "rigorous process" through the local civil service, won't expect his firefighters to do anything he hadn't already done.
"I thinks he's going to be a great leader of this team," the mayor told the crowd.
"We have a fantastic team. They all are quality individuals and they work together well."
Soisson's family was there to celebrate the occasion. His wife Jeanne and daughters Lindsey Esker, 33, and Leah Schaffer, 25, and his son Dan Soisson, 29, pinned badges on Soisson's dress uniform.
"I'm very proud of him. His father would be very proud of him if he were here," said his mother, Stella, referring to the late Robert Soisson who died in 1991.
Jeanne Soisson said her husband is passionate about being a firefighter and doing the best he can for the department and city.
"It (being chief) is something he's thought about. I don't think he thought it would come this quickly," she said.
John Soisson, a 1979 St. Paul High School graduate, took the entrance exam to be a firefighter in 1990. In April 1992, he was hired at the Norwalk Fire Department.
"Once I got the job, I fell in love with it," said the new chief, who was born and raised in Norwalk.
His son Dan has been a firefighter for the last seven or eight years. He worked for Perrysbug and now is a Huron city firefighter.
Soisson earned his first promotion in 2006 when he became lieutenant. He was promoted to captain Aug 29, 2011. In late February 2012, Soisson became the secretary of fire -- Alexander's new position.
One of Soisson's goals as chief is to maintain training levels, especially with what he calls "a young department" and a nice mixture of experienced, enthusiastic and talented firefighters.
"We need to train -- train every day," he said.
Soisson also wants the department to do public service projects.
The new chief's longterm goal is getting a new station. While Soisson calls it "a glaring need," he said the economic situation hasn't made a new building feasible.
"We're going to work our tails off here," he said.
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