2023 -- H 5650

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LC001917

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING DEREK SILVA ON BEING NAMED THE NEW FIRE CHIEF OF THE

CITY OF PROVIDENCE

     Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Blazejewski, DeSimone, Hull, J. Lombardi,
Slater, Biah, Marszalkowski, Diaz, and Batista

     Date Introduced: February 16, 2023

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Derek Silva, the newly announced Fire Chief of the City of Providence, was

born in Providence, and raised in Lincoln. He began his distinguished public service career when

he volunteered to serve as a firefighter for the Saylesville Fire District in the Town of Lincoln, a

position he held for more than four years; and

     WHEREAS, Chief Silva joined the Providence Fire Department, the second oldest

continuously run fire department in the country, in January of 2007, and thanks to his strong

leadership skills, devotion to duty and tireless work ethic, he continuously impressed his

superiors and peers, and steadily rose through the ranks; and

     WHEREAS, In 2017, Mr. Silva was promoted to the rank of Fire Lieutenant, and earned

a promotion to Fire Prevention/Arson Captain in 2022, and in May of that year, was promoted to

the position of Assistant Chief of the Fire Department which he held until his elevation to the

position of Providence Fire Chief; and

     WHEREAS, Chief Silva, the youngest Fire Chief in the history of the Providence Fire

Department, is running a department that receives 45,000 calls a year, with 75 percent of those

being emergency services that aren’t fires, particularly incidents of drug overdose. He has already

rewritten the outdated Department handbook, the bible for rules and procedures for firefighters,

which had last been updated in 1997, before the days of the internet and e-mail. Chief Silva is

also focusing on firefighter recruiting for the department which is currently very short-staffed,

and is looking for innovative ways to better utilize resources without risking public safety; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

congratulates Derek Silva on being named the Fire Chief of the City of Providence and wishes

him continued success in all his future endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Derek Silva, Chief, Providence Fire

Department.

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