Aug. 17--STAMFORD -- Fire Chief Antonio Conte resigned suddenly Friday in yet another blow to the city's troubled fire services.
The assistant chief resigned last month following his arrest on drunken driving charges.
Mayor Michael Pavia and other fire officials said they were surprised by Conte's announcement that he would retire immediately. Pavia has appointed Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski, a former New York City firefighter, as acting chief pending the hiring of Conte's replacement.
"Chief Conte served the city well, came up through the ranks, was an example of someone who worked hard in order to accomplish what he accomplished," Pavia said Friday. "He ran the department through a very, very challenging time.
"I think he was making some great progress in terms of the consolidation."
Conte, a 40-year veteran of Stamford's fire services, was a fire officer for 26 years and oversaw department training for 10 years.
As chief, he led the department through several major storms and the aftermath of the Christmas morning fire in the Shippan section of the city that killed three young girls and their grandparents in 2011.
He was also overseeing the contentious consolidation of Stamford's career and volunteer firefighters, an issue now being fought in court with three volunteer departments.
Although bitterness and bad blood have divided the city's paid and volunteer firefighters for years, Conte was viewed by many as a leader capable of working with both sides.
"The Belltown Fire Department worked very well with him," Belltown Chief John Didelot said Friday. "He was doing the best that he could. He was very cooperative with anything that we discussed and we just tried to push things along and get everybody on the same page. We've been pretty successful over the period of time that he's been in office."
But scandal has rocked the department in recent weeks, starting with the arrest of former Assistant Fire Chief William Smith in late July. Smith, also a longtime department veteran, was forced to resign after he crashed his city-issued vehicle into a parked car near his home on Dunn Avenue and then left the scene. He later called police to report the accident, but was charged with driving under the influence after toxicology reports showed his blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit.
Earlier this month, Gary Bivona, a 13-year firefighter, was charged with first-degree forgery and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bivona was arrested after police officers investigating his son, who was charged with selling drugs, uncovered an alleged money counterfeiting operation in the family's basement.
Pavia was vague when asked if these incidents factored into Conte's retirement.
"He ran the department through a very, very challenging time," the mayor said. "I'm sure there were a lot of things that weighed on him. There are some positions that you can get into and the seas are calm and then there are others that have controversy."
Brendan Keatley, president of Stamford's professional firefighters union, said he was not prepared to comment on Conte's retirement.
"I'm just a little surprised," he said.
Conte did not return a call for comment Friday.
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Copyright 2013 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
