CFD's Corsi named Emergency Vehicle Technician of Year

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 3/29/17

By JACOB MARROCCO When Robert Corsi was looking into potential careers 30 years ago, he explored a few different avenues. He took several tests, ranging from police officer to postal employee to mechanic. He chose to pursue that last field, and it has

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CFD's Corsi named Emergency Vehicle Technician of Year

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When Robert Corsi was looking into potential careers 30 years ago, he explored a few different avenues.

He took several tests, ranging from police officer to postal employee to mechanic. He chose to pursue that last field, and it has paid dividends for him ever since.

The Cranston Fire Department mainstay was presented with Firehouse Magazine’s Emergency Vehicle Technician of the Year Award during an intimate ceremony at City Hall on Thursday morning. Corsi’s qualifications in the field are numerous, as he is the Chairman of the Board at the International Chiefs Association (EVMS) and its representative for New England.

“It’s a great place with a lot of great people,” Chief Mechanic Corsi said of the CFD. “I’m humbled and it’s quite a great experience. We accomplish things every day. We’ve got a good mayor and things are looking good.”

Mayor Allan W. Fung presented Corsi with a citation from the city, as well as the Cranston Challenge Coin. Fung said the coin is only awarded to people “who go above and beyond.”

“We have a lot of wonderful employees that work for the city of Cranston, but to see national recognition as Bob has received, is something that should be recognized, and by all of the people of the city of Cranston whom you’ve worked so hard for,” Fung said. “It means a lot to us, the dedication that you’ve put forth in your profession.

“Not only during the work hours, but I’ve noted some of the things you’ve encountered during your travels, just really bringing stuff back to help the residents of Cranston, help the department and making sure public safety is our priority.”

Corsi had an anecdote about some off-the-clock work he did to benefit the department. Corsi noticed that the fireboats in Narragansett Bay were experiencing issues with their crank shafts. During a vacation to Bologna, Italy, Corsi took it upon himself to take some of the failing parts with him to their manufacturing factory, VM Motori, and speak with some of the local engineers to find a solution.

“The engineers looked at it and we came up with a fix for the problem and we went home and got started on trying to cure the problem,” he said.

Cranston Fire Chief William McKenna presented the award plaque to Corsi, noting that Firehouse Magazine serves as “the Bible of the fire service.”

Corsi’s interest in the field started at home, working on cars and trucks for his father Robert’s saw mill. More than 30 years later, Corsi finds himself as one of the most experienced mechanics in his field across the Ocean State.

He is a member of the New England Fire Apparatus Maintenance Association, as well as a participant in the EVT Validation Conference for the past eight years. According to a release written by Corsi’s girlfriend, Dawn Mattera, “he is one of only a handful of people in the country to have all the certifications in his field.”

Corsi said his knowledge in the field has only grown more vital through the years, especially as he passes it on to others interested in entering his line of work.

“Today, mechanics are getting to be very scarce,” Corsi said. “It’s a field that nobody wants to do anymore because there’s a lot of hands-on work and there’s a lot of technical challenges, too. I wish more people would get into it, and that’s why I’m involved with EVT, because it’s more of a training tool than it is a certification. It’s both.”

Corsi continues to truck along. He has plans to attend and give a speech at Spartan Motors’ Advanced Electrical Diagnostic Training in October, and will also see one of his articles published soon in Firehouse.

The topic is one that is close to home for the tireless EVT.

“We submitted it last night, so next month’s magazine it should be in there,” Corsi said. “[It’s] about how we’re actually saving money refurbishing old trucks and it should be a little bit of reading.”

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