Joe Valentine and Tyler Mutter have officially joined the ranks of the Chelsea Area Fire Authority.
“They will be a great addition to CAFA and I am looking forward to bringing them into the ranks,” said Chelsea Fire Chief Rob Arbini.
The two will spend 40 hours working on different shifts in their first two weeks, the chief said, training and learning the policies and procedures.
In early July, they will start their official shift work out of Station 1.
Both firefighters enjoy the public service aspect of the job and arrive in Chelsea with experience as both EMT’s and firefighters from jobs at other departments.
Valentine grew up in Dexter – yes, he’s a Dreadnaught. Currently, he lives in Whitmore Lake with his wife of 13 years, Kim, and six children ages 11 years to a newborn. In fact, his wife is an administrative assistant for the Dexter Area Fire Department. And he was working at Ypsilanti Fire Department before being hired for the position in Chelsea.
Mutter was born and raised in Onsted where he joined the paid-on-call Cambridge Fire Department. He said he first became interested in firefighting when his brother-in-law introduced him to the fire service, and he has spent the last five years as a firefighter and an EMT.
Although both new hires said they got into the fire service to serve the public and help people, Valentine comes from a family that includes a police officer and a DEA agent.
Valentine and Mutter soon will be joined by a third new firefighter and a new lieutenant. Two current firefighters have applied for the open lieutenant’s position left vacant with Bill Regnier’s decision to become a full-time police officer in another town.
