Salem — After 36 years of fighting fires and building the Salem Volunteer Fire Company into the well-respected organization that it is today, Eugene “Gene” Maiorano has retired from the company’s top position.

And while Maiorano, 64, will continue to work on projects with the company and mentor young firefighters, he said after nearly four decades of service, he feels it is time to take a step back.

“The other chiefs have told me over the years, ‘You’ll know when it’s time,’” he said.

But his fellow firefighters are still calling him "chief."

Maiorano led the company for 36 of the 38 years he has been a member, and in that time, his friends and colleagues say, he improved the quality of the company’s service, from building a new station to replacing and updating all of the company’s equipment. But more important, they say, he has led by example and paved the way for a new generation of firefighters to serve the town.

“I always use the phrase a ‘good chief leads by example’ and for sure he did that,” said firefighter, friend and lifelong Salem resident Al Wlodarczyk. “He would never ask anybody to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do himself and that goes ... all the way to our youngest junior member. He was always willing to get his hands just as dirty as everybody else.”

Maiorano grew up in Norwich before moving to Salem around age 26, joining the Salem Volunteer Fire Company in 1978. In addition to being a firefighter, he had a career as a safety adviser for the Department of Transportation before retiring in 2001. As chief, Maiorano started the junior firefighters program, served as president and vice president on the board of directors for Colchester Emergency Communications, and was involved with the New London County Fire Chiefs.

In 2003, Maiorano ran for first selectman of Salem as a Democrat, losing by fewer than 200 votes to Republican Larry Reitz. The year before, he was presented with a Salem Unsung Heroes award.   

Firefighting and emergency response became a family affair for the Maioranos. With his wife, Marcella, who is company treasurer, Maiorano raised five children in Salem. Many of his children were junior members and cadets in their youth and grew up to have careers in emergency services, including a daughter who is a Life Star flight nurse and a son who is a career firefighter. He now has five grandchildren living in Salem and another nearby in Hebron.

According to Wlodarczyk, Maiorano treated the other men and women in his company like family, too. He recalled the support Maiorano showed him when Wlodarczyk’s father fell ill.

“I had to take a couple months off, and he (Maiorano) was there for us. He was there for my dad,” Wlodarczyk said. “His impact was caring for his members as if they were his family.”

While Maiorano couldn’t choose just one moment of pride from his years of service, he said what initially drew him to firefighting, and what has kept him there for 38 years, has been the people.

“I’ve been proud from the day I started. I’m proud of all the accomplishments that we’ve had. It’s never been about me, it’s always been about the department and the town and the safety of the townspeople.”

Newly appointed Chief Rick Martin, who joined the Salem Volunteer Fire Company as a junior member at age 12, said he hopes to follow in Maiorano’s footsteps.

“He’s been a little bit of everything — a friend, a mentor and a father figure. Growing up in the service, he’s the only chief that I’ve known. He’s taken this company a long way,” Martin said. “You always know where you stand with him. He’s not one to sugarcoat anything. He’ll tell you how it is, but he treats everybody fairly. He’s always consistent and that’s one thing that I’ll try to do. I’ve got huge shoes to fill but I look forward to the challenge.”

Wlodarczyk said Martin is up to that challenge.

“He’s got very deep roots in our department. I’m excited for Rick. I think the department is excited for Rick, as much as they hated to see Gene retire,” he said.

Wlodarczyk said that each generation of firefighters puts its own mark on a department, and where his and Maiorano’s generation refined the program that was created by the generation before them, 39-year-old Martin and some of the younger members of the department will have their own challenges.

“Rick’s generation is going to take it that next step further. They’ll have to address the difficulty of volunteerism in the fire department and budgetary constraints. It’s difficult to get people," Wlodarczyk said.

Martin said he is aware of that particular challenge, and looks forward to involving new community members through fundraising and clean-up efforts.

“You don’t have to run into a burning building; there’s always something for people to do,” Martin said.

j.hopper@theday.com

Twitter: @JessHoppa