March 28, 2024

East Providence Fire Chief Retires after 33 Years in Public Service

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East Providence, RI – The city of East Providence announces the retirement of East Providence Fire Chief Oscar Elmasian.

Chief Elmasian retired from East Providence Fire Department after nearly 33 years at EPFD.

In the interim, Glenn Quick has been appointed Acting Chief of the department until a thorough process to pick the chief’s successor is conducted.

“We thank Chief Elmasian for his years of dedication to the city of East Providence and wish him well on his retirement,” Mayor Bob DaSilva said.

“The residents of our community know that when they are in an emergency, the fire and police departments will be there to assist them with the highest professional standards,” DaSilva added.

Elmasian, who was appointed acting chief in 2012 by then East Providence City Manager Peter Graczykowski, was officially named fire chief in September 2013, a position he held until his retirement in late September.

The former chief was responsible for 120 firefighters and EMS personnel within the four East Providence fire stations. In his capacity as chief, Elmasian oversaw a number of functions including: directing senior officers to update the department’s standard operating guidelines for Marine 3, establishing the employee handbook and implementing a mentoring program for newly hired firefighters.

Included in Elmasian’s list of accomplishments is his securing of a $215,000 fire-prevention grant to advance education initiatives and to procure new equipment.

Elmasian held a number of certifications including Fire Instructor, RI State Fire Academy Instructor, RI EMT-C, NFPA 1001 (Firefighter Level I & II), 1021 (Fire Officer), 1041 (Fire Instructor), 1031 (Fire Inspector), 1033 (Fire Investigator I), 1521 (Incident Safety Officer) and IAAI (Fire Investigation Technician).

Elmasian has been a member of the Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs since 2014. He’s also a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation- Coordinator of RILAST.

Elmasian, an experienced drummer, also dedicated his time over the last 10 years as a member of the Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipe and Drum Band.

Prior to joining the East Providence Fire Department, Elmasian was a firefighter/EMT-I with the Barrington Fire Department and callman firefighter with the Seekonk Fire Department.

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