Outstanding Firefighter
Joseph Fiorella
Firefighting is a family affair for Long Island native By Randy Capps
When Joe Fiorella starts talking, it doesn’t take very long to figure out that he isn’t from around here. “I do have a nickname. It’s basically Yankee, but it’s normally with another word in front of it,” he joked. Fiorella, a captain at 50-210 Fire Department in Angier and a volunteer with Elevation Fire Department, still has his New York accent and, thanks to a family tradition, a strong passion for helping others. It’s for that dedication to his comrades and service to his community that Fiorella has been selected as the 2020 Johnston Now Honors Outstanding Firefighter award winner. Growing up on Long Island, there was never much doubt that he would become a firefighter. 14 | JOHNSTON NOW
“Back in the ’80s on Long Island, there wasn’t a lot of people believe it or not,” he said. “There were like seven houses on the whole block. So the volunteer fire department, Wantaugh Fire Department, was looking for volunteers, and they needed them during the day. ... My mother, we called her Bunny, Bernadette, her and (the woman across the street) were the first female firefighters on Long Island. So, they started that trend. A little bit after that, my father joined. And I’ve been in a firehouse since then, running around and playing and everything else. My sister’s husband is on the same department, too.” While his heart might be on Long Island, circumstances dictated a change of address for Fiorella and his family. “Back when we were looking to buy a house, it was crazy on Long Island,” he said. “We decided to come down here.
My buddy had a business, and I worked for him for a week and got a paycheck. I got the paycheck, and I was able to go buy a house.” He moved to the area for good in 2005, and today, he lives in Angier with his wife, Heather. They have three children, Joseph, Samantha and Sabrina. He credits Nathan Burgess, now chief of 50-210, and Timmy Stanley for easing his transition. “When I came down here, I had knowledge of fighting fires and doing everything else,” he said. “But the administrative end of it, dealing with people and how things work in Johnston County, I started working with Timmy Stanley. We were hired together as the first full-time firefighters at 50-210. He taught me a lot on the administrative end. How things work, how the county works.”
