News

By Steve Plunkett
    
    Boca Raton’s deputy fire chief has moved two towns north to take the reins as chief of Boynton Beach’s Fire Rescue Department.
    “I know about the passion of the firefighters that work here (and) bring to the job every day, the passion about the city, the commitment,” new Chief Glenn Joseph said. “I want to be a part of that passion.”
    Joseph, who took command May 2, worked for the city of Boca Raton for 29 years, the past nine as deputy fire chief. “He must have started when he was 10,” City Manager Lori LaVerriere joked as she introduced Joseph to the city commission April 5.
    Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes both contract with Boynton Beach for fire services.
    LaVerriere said she, the city’s HR chief and Ray Carter, the now-retired fire chief Joseph replaces, interviewed nine or 10 people for the job. “He rose to the top of a very competitive candidate pool,” she said.
    Joseph, who lives in Delray Beach, also is an instructor at the National Fire Academy in Maryland and develops and coordinates class courses for Jupiter-based Advanced Technical and Educational Consultants Inc., which trains federal, state and local emergency services providers.
    The new chief has a wide range of experience, including coordinating and managing emergency and administrative functions, the city said. Prior to his position as Boca Raton’s deputy fire chief, Joseph served as its acting division chief of safety and training, captain of the training and safety division, EMS captain, station captain, paramedic, fire safety inspector and hazardous materials technician.
    Joseph has a bachelor’s in organizational management at Palm Beach Atlantic University and a master’s in emergency planning and administration at Lynn University. He holds eight state licenses: paramedic, firefighter, safety inspector, fire-fighting instructor, fire officer 1, fire instructor III, hazardous materials technician and fire investigator 1.
    In addition, he is licensed as a registered professional nurse; he worked at Delray Medical Center from 1996 to 2004.
    “I am confident that working together we can continue the city of Boynton Beach’s long-standing tradition of excellence and grow the department well into the future,” Joseph said in a statement.
    Carter resigned Jan. 31 after 11½ years with Boynton Beach and 32 years as a firefighter and fire chief in West Palm Beach. The Boynton Beach fire union presented him with a hunting rifle at a retirement party in February.
    Deputy Chief Greg Hoggatt served as interim fire chief until Joseph took over.