Matthew Angelletta brings over three decades of experience as a first responder to his new role as the chief of the Levittown Fire Department.
Angelletta was sworn into the position at a Jan. 1 ceremony, becoming the 43rd chief since the department’s inception in 1950. He said he began volunteering at the fire department in 1994 and called it an honor to be in a role he could never have imagined being in when he first started serving.
“We look forward to his term in office and continued dedicated leadership,” the department said in a Facebook post after the ceremony.
Angelletta said he has lived in Levittown for his entire life and decided to join the Levittown Fire Department just a few months after graduating from high school.
Angelletta said he had a friend who joined the Woodmere Fire Department, and it was he who convinced Angelletta to do the same in Levittown.
In 1996, Angelletta began working for the Fire Department of New York as an EMT and then decided in 2003 to work for the New York City District Council of Carpenters. He has worked as a carpenter ever since, and has also been a union representative since 2015.
But throughout it all, Angelletta had also worked his way up through the Levittown Fire Department. He became the second lieutenant captain for Engine Company 2 in 2000 and was later promoted to captain in 2004.
He then went through the captain process again, beginning in 2014. In 2018, he became the second person in the department’s history to be a two-time captain.
Angelletta was then promoted to deputy chief in 2020, a title he had held for the last six years.
“My whole entire life, I’ve enjoyed it,” Angelletta said about helping others.
Fire department chiefs are elected for one-year terms, but Angelletta said he hopes to serve as the chief for longer. He said that while in charge, he aims to focus on recruitment and retention of members during his term.
“My goal is to keep bringing members in, keep bringing the younger generation in, and teach them about the community,” Angelletta said.
