Photo by Lester Smith
Now honored in the Connecticut Firefighters Hall of Fame, Suffield Fire Chief Chuck Flynn is pictured at his desk in Fire Station Number One.
On April 6 the Connecticut State Firefighters Association inducted Suffield Fire Chief Chuck Flynn into the Connecticut Firefighters Hall of Fame, a significant honor. His name will appear on the Hall of Fame plaque, which is located at the Connecticut Fire Academy, on Perimeter Road at Bradley International Airport.
The association describes the award as honoring those who have served their department and state association “above and beyond normal expectations over an extended period of time. They shall have demonstrated leadership and have shown themselves to be a motivating force for the betterment of the Fire Service throughout Connecticut and the United States. These persons shall have contributed in a positive way to the enrichment of the Fire Service organizations they represent.” About a dozen in Connecticut are named each year.
Chuck Flynn became Suffield’s fire chief in August 2012 after retiring from a long career in the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department, with seven years as chief. While there he was named Firefighter of the Year, and he is now the Connecticut director for the New England Association of Fire Chiefs as well as the vice chairman of the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He is a past president of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association.
A native of Wethersfield and a retired telephone company lineman, Chief Flynn now lives in one of the town houses at Suffield West, closely available for fire emergencies here.