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, and 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.

“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.”

As it turns out, Stanley served an even more important role.

“Understand that people here in Johnston County have a different accent than I do,” Fiorella said. “Trying to understand people on the radio was hard, and people understanding me on the radio was hard, so Timmy became like a translator.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced firefighters to adapt even more. In addition to their normal gear, firefighters have been taking extra measures, like face masks, eye protectors and personal protective equipment.

“It seemed like it slowed down our patient care a little bit, getting to the patients, but it’s working out OK,” he said. “You have to adjust and move on.”

It hasn’t affected his passion for firefighting much. In fact, in addition to his full-time work at 50-210 FD, he enjoys volunteering at nearby Elevation.

“I’ve been a volunteer since 1991,” he said. “I volunteered for 10 years in Long Island, and when I came here, I volunteered at 50/210 before I started working there. So, when I got hired full time, I couldn’t volunteer anymore. When we sold the house and moved into Elevation’s district, my assistant chief on Car 3 is the chief at Elevation. So, we were together from day 1. Elevation’s a good fire department. They’ve got a good group of guys, so I decided to go over there and help out. “When volunteering is in your blood, it’s in your blood. ... You sacrifice a lot with family, but it’s one of those things.”

Volunteers, Fiorella believes, are a critical part of the success of local fire departments.

“People need to volunteer,” he said. “We really don’t have a lot of them anymore. Most of the departments can’t afford having career staff there, so without volunteers, it’s not really going to work out. It takes a year or so to train and get going, so (it would be good) if they can get on young and get going.”

What could be better, after all, than being young and soaking up knowledge around a firehouse?