Malden Catholic High School Grad Sworn in as Melrose Firefighter on Sept. 11

Three firefighters, including a Malden Catholic High School graduate, and a policeman became the newest members of the Melrose Fire and Police Departments after being sworn in during a ceremony on Sept. 11. 

From the flag monument near the Melrose Fire Station, Mayor Rob Dolan asked the few dozen in attendance to never forget the lives lost in the terrorists' attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as those that have died while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Remember the 341 firefighters that perished that day," Dolan said. "Remember the 60 police officers that died that day and the 10 EMTS and paramedics.

"Remember those in post-9/11 as a result of the attack on our country. Four thousand, five hundred soldiers have lost their life in Iraq, and approximately 2,200 have lost their life in Afghanistan."

Dolan said that public safety has changed since that tragic day, as well as since the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day.

"We had bomb-sniffing dogs walking up and down Main Street before the Victorian Fair started (on Sunday)," said the mayor. "...Even in a community like Melrose we must always be vigilant in our police department and our fire department, our emergency management department, our school teachers, our DPW workers and our citizens...to keep our city safe."

A moment of silence was held moments before 9:11 a.m. Wednesday to honor the lives lost on and after Sept. 11. A fireman's prayer and wreath laying at the monument were also part of the ceremony.

Joseph Stamegna was sworn in first by Dolan. 

"...Stamegna graduated from the Reading Police Academy in Reading on Aug. 6. Before becoming a police officer he was self-employed and worked as a construction supervisor specializing in remodeling and finished carpentry," according to a city press statement. "He is a lifelong, fourth generation resident of Melrose who graduated from Melrose High School in 1998. Shortly before graduation, he enlisted with the Army Reserve with aspirations of becoming a police officer, just as a few of his family members had.

"During the eight years he served with the Army Reserve he was a member of the 368th Engineering Battalion Combat Heavy out of Londonderry, N.H. Training with the Army Reserve took him to different areas of the country as well as to South Korea. Following Sept. 11 he was deployed for over a year with his unit...to support Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Minutes later, James DeMartino, John Brophy III and John Glabicky and were sworn in together by the mayor as the city's newest firefighters. DeMartino has ties to the Malden community.

"...DeMartino graduated from Malden Catholic High School in 2003 and has worked for the Department of Correction as a correction officer since 2004. He was promoted to sergeant in 2011," reads the statement. "James is an assistant football coach at Malden Catholic High School. He received his paramedic license from EMS Academy in Quincy in March of this year. He currently lives in Wakefield."

"...Brophy III was born and raised in Peabody. He attended St John’s Prep and graduated as a member of the National Honor Society," reads the statement. "He got an early start on his EMS career by taking classes at night during his senior year of high school. Later on he attended graduated Paramedic school and graduated in 2012. John is a second generation firefighter."

"...Glabicky graduated from Palmer High School and went on to Springfield College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s...in sports management and a minor in business," reads the statement. "He was a call firefighter for seven years with the Bondsville Fire Department, where he attained the rank of captain and was in charge of the department training curriculum. He worked as an EMT-B for three years at Palmer Ambulance and became a paramedic, and he was a medic for two years with AMR Springfield, where he served on the Disaster Response Team (DRT) and as a tactical medic."

Those attending the ceremony later gathered in the GAR Room at Memorial Hall in Melrose for refreshments.

Check out our video coverage from the swearing in ceremony in Melrose.