Salem, Massachusetts – Salem Fire Chief John “Gerry” Giunta will retire from the Salem Fire Department on February 26, 2021, after 38 years of service to the City of Salem.
Chief Giunta joined the Salem Fire Department as a firefighter in 1983 and served on Engine 1 and Ladder 2. He served as Lieutenant with Engines 1, 2, and 4 from 1986 to 1993, Captain on Ladder 1 and Tower 2 from 1993 to 2007, and as Deputy Chief from 2007 to 2018, when Mayor Kim Driscoll appointed him to serve as Chief.
Giunta was a member of FEMA’s Massachusetts Urban Search and Rescue Task Force and led that team from 2006 to 2018. In his time with the Task Force, Giunta deployed in response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irene, and Katrina, the 2011 Springfield tornadoes, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and as operations leader with a 70-member team deployed to New York City following the attacks on September 11, 2011.
As Chief, Giunta has led the department with integrity and a commitment to public safety and public service. He oversaw major capital investments in fire stations and apparatus, provided expanded training and professional development opportunities for firefighters, worked in collaboration with major community stakeholders such as Footprint and SESD on emergency response preparation, secured state and federal grants to upgrade equipment, and increased the diversity of the department’s workforce to better represent the community it serves. In addition to all this, Chief Giunta has served as a key member of the City’s COVID Response Task Force, leading efforts around protective equipment distribution, community coordination, and emergency preparedness.
“I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to have the ultimate profession,” said Chief Giunta. “I was able to help people throughout my career with the possibility that every day, I could save a life. What an incredible responsibility to have! I tried my best throughout my career to be ready for that day and I feel that every first responder should welcome this challenge by being the best they can be every single day. I would also like the public to know that none of us serve alone. We are a family that lives this together and our spouses and children and our extended family share our sacrifice when we are not there for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other meaningful events.”
“Salem and the Salem Fire Department are better for having had Gerry in the many roles he has held in the department for the last nearly four decades of his service,” said Mayor Driscoll. “He’s been a steady hand leading the department during incredibly challenging times. Chief Giunta has earned the respect and admiration of the men and women of the Salem Fire Department and the gratitude of the people of Salem. He has made our community safer, stronger, and better for all who live, work, learn, and visit here. On behalf of the City and the many residents who have benefited from Chief Giunta’s steadfast leadership, I wish him the best in his well-earned retirement and thank him for his many years of dedicated public service.”
“I have learned a very important lesson since Mayor Driscoll entrusted me with being Chief of department and I am very humbled by her faith in me,” added Chief Giunta. “The Fire Department is one of many departments that choose this path of service with our brothers and sisters at the Police Department and emergency medical services that respond to the calls for help daily. It doesn’t end there, there are many other departments within the City that are there for everyone, every day, the most obvious lately is the health department responding tirelessly throughout this pandemic, but it doesn’t end there either. Take a look at the City of Salem register and all the departments that are on it. We are all better because of each other. Thank you to all that I have had the honor to serve with. I can’t thank you enough for your support. To everyone involved with the City of Salem, we are all in this together and the more that we give of ourselves the more that our entire community gains as a whole. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It has been quite an honor!”
