Deputy fire chief Curran promoted

Rochester Fire Chief Salvatore “Sam” Mitrano III, left, swears in Executive Deputy Fire Chief William Curran, who has been acting executive deputy fire chief since April 2012, during a ceremony Monday. Courtesy RFD

Executive Deputy Fire Chief William Curran was sworn in Monday by Rochester Fire Chief Salvatore “Sam” Mitrano III.

Curran has been acting executive deputy fire chief since April 2012. They were joined by Mayor Thomas S. Richards at the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County.

Curran has been a member of the Rochester Fire Department since 1978, rising to the ranks of lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and deputy chief in 2003. In the 1990s, Curran led a successful countywide push to have fire hydrant portals installed on highway sound-barrier walls after reading an article about how the response to a gas-tanker explosion on a Maryland highway was hampered because firefighters couldn’t get water to the scene.

The executive deputy fire chief is the department’s second in command.