Newly named Assistant Fire Chief Robert Kick does not lack for firefighting experience, having risen through the ranks over 15 years in the Greenwich Fire Department. With department morale on an upswing, Asst. Chief Kick pledged to focus on continuing to move forward on operational procedures.
Ken Borsuk photo

Continuing his rise through the ranks, Robert Kick has been named and sworn in as the Greenwich Fire Department’s new assistant chief, making him second in command of the department he has worked in for 15 years.

Assistant Chief Kick, who was promoted from deputy chief, was sworn in at a brief ceremony Thursday afternoon in front of his family, friends and fellow firefighters. The swearing in was truly a family affair for him as his 4-year-old daughter, Sarah, got to pin her father’s new badge on his uniform. She filled that role at his previous promotion to deputy chief, and Assistant Chief Kick said it meant a lot to him to have her play such an important role in this ceremony, which his mother and sister also attended.

“It’s great to have the family involved,” Assistant Chief Kick said. “It’s an honor, and she’s a big motivation in my life. I come to work every day so I can provide for a better life for her.”

“Sarah adores her father. She loves firemen, so this was very special for her,” said Assistant Chief Kick’s wife, Laurie. “I’m extremely proud of him today. He’s worked so hard for this.”

Sarah also got a badge of her own to keep, courtesy of Fire Chief Peter Siecienski, who praised Assistant Chief Kick and said they would work very well together.

“He’s very well-rounded as far as his career is concerned,” Chief Siecienski said. “He was one of the senior applicants with a good amount of time in the department. He’s been a lieutenant and a deputy chief, so this is a natural progression for him. He not only has a good educational background, but a background in construction management, which gives him a good opportunity to participate in some of the construction projects we have going.”

Assistant Chief Kick has been with the fire department since 1993 and said he believes his new role will allow him to address issues within the department, such as standard operating procedures and dispatch.

“I’ll have my hands full for the next five years,” Assistant Chief Kick said. “Operations will be the main priority. It’s not as though there are problems with operations. We just have to be able to move forward. There are new things we have to try, and things that have to be replaced.”

During his career in the fire department, Assistant Chief Kick served as a vice president for the town’s firefighters union. He said he believed that would be an advantage as a supervisor.

“I have a good working relationship with everyone,” Assistant Chief Kick said. “I think it’s going to do nothing but help our moving forward.”

Chief Siecienski said it would be an adjustment for Assistant Chief Kick, but he was confident he would make it easily.

“It works to our advantage, but when a guy like that takes on an administrative role it could also be a detriment,” Chief Siecienski said. “It can be a difficult transition at times to go from a member of a labor organization to a management position. He’ll be able to make it fine, though. He’s got a lot of support.”

Assistant Chief Kick was made a lieutenant in 2001 and in 2006 was named a deputy chief. The assistant chief’s position had been vacant since earlier this year when Chief Siecienski replaced the retiring fire chief, Sanford Anderson.

Before Assistant Chief Kick could be sworn in, there was the minor technical issue of him actually getting the job, something that was taken care of earlier in the day when the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved his promotion. Mr. Kick had been selected out of an initial pool of more than 20 candidates and eight finalists by a four-person selection panel made up of Chief Siecienski, Town Administrator John Crary, Human Resources Director Maureen Kast, and Labor Relations Director Al Cava.

After making the approval, Mr. Lash remarked that Assistant Chief Kick’s promotion was “a perfect example of the succession planning process working out the way we want it to.”

Earlier this year Mr. Lash set up new command structures in both the fire and police departments to establish clear lines of succession within them and allow for more advancement by career employees.

Mr. Lash also spoke at the promotion ceremony, pointing out that he and Assistant Chief Kick didn’t get their working relationship off to the smoothest start when he was just starting as first selectman and Assistant Chief Kick was a union official.

“He lectured me severely about the town’s shortcomings, my personal shortcomings, not too personal though, and better ways to operate the fire department,” Mr. Lash recalled with a smile. “He thought I would never be smart enough to do what he told me, and now we’re going to see what he does when he’s in charge.”

Mr. Lash joked it was a nice bookend to his four years as first selectman because Assistant Chief Kick had told him how it should be done and now, as he left office, he was leaving it for him to actually do it. Mr. Lash said he was confident that Assistant Chief Kick would do a great job and that he was very proud of what he had accomplished in the department.

Mr. Lash also took the opportunity to praise the town’s emergency services departments as a whole.

“The men and women of our public safety agencies are the ones who are always there at people’s toughest moments, and it’s just assumed they’ll be there,” Mr. Lash said. “Of course you are not just there. You and your families are making sacrifices in order to be there, and I just want to say that we appreciate that. I don’t say it often enough. You could all be doing other things. The people in these services do it because they love the work and love being able to help people in the times they can’t help themselves.”

The fire department has gone through controversies in recent years, including the union’s clash with former Chief Daniel Warzoha and Mr. Lash’s recent dismissal of Deputy Chief Joseph Benoit, who has asked for a hearing to fight the dismissal. Assistant Chief Kick said he believed the department was beyond past problems and the morale of the firefighters was good.

“Chief Siecienski has a lot to do with that,” Assistant Chief Kick said. “Since he’s been here, the morale of the department has increased about a hundredfold.”
Assistant Chief Kick thanked all his fellow firefighters who came out for the ceremony, but as soon as it was over he had a message for them.

“Everybody knows what we’ve got to do here,” Assistant Chief Kick told the crowd. “Now get back to work.”


kborsuk@greenwich-post.com

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