WESTFIELD–The city’s fire department increased their staffing by two last night, after officially swearing in Zachary D. Kareta and Matthew B. Potter onto the force during a public meeting at city hall.
Kareta, of Westfield, and Potter, of Monson, will be joining the department full-time, with a tentative starting date of Feb. 25. Both have prior experience working on an ambulance and at volunteer fire departments, and each are certified paramedics. While they will be employed on the department officially, both must still go through the Massachusetts Fire Academy within a year of their official appointment in order to remain on the department, barring extenuating circumstances.
“They’ve gone through quite the ordeal to get to this position,” Westfield Fire Commissioner Albert Masciadrelli, said during the meeting last night. “I want to thank them for their professionalism and perseverance.”
Matthew B. Potter takes oath from city clerk Karen Fanion during his swearing in as one of Westfield’s two newest firefighters, as Westfield Fire Chief Mary Regan looks on
Kareta and Potter were chosen from five candidates that were interviewed by the department through the Massachusetts civil service process. Previously, both had to take a civil service examination and physical abilities examination (PAT), which are both part of the process to being considered for employment by Westfield Fire Department.
Additionally, after Kareta and Potter were appointed by the commission last month, both had to pass a second PAT, medical, physical and psychological examinations and a criminal offender record information (CORI) inquiry.
Zachary D. Kareta smiles as he is being sworn in by the Westfield Fire Commission as one of the two newest firefighter-paramedics for the city of Westfield
For Kareta, his experience includes four years working as an EMT, as well as six months as a paramedic. He was also per diem on the Southampton Fire Department as a firefighter-EMT.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “It took a long time to get to this point but I’m excited to start my career with the city.”
Potter’s experience is similar to Kareta’s. Like Kareta, Potter has also worked as an EMT for four years, and he has spent the past seven months as a paramedic. Potter also has experience with firefighting, serving on the Monson Fire Department on a per diem basis.
“I’m extremely enthusiastic to start,” Potter said. “Westfield has a great reputation and I’m excited to be a part of this organization.”
