The Bayonne Fire Department recently held a retirement ceremony for Chief Keith Weaver at the City Hall Firehouse. Weaver is retiring after ten years as Chief and thirty-six years as a firefighter.
Deputy Fire Chief Frank Pawlowski served as master of ceremonies. Speaking at the event, Mayor and Public Safety Director Robert Kubert said that Chief Weaver did not see the Fire Department “as a job.” Rather, “He saw this as his life.” According to Mayor Kubert, Chief Weaver “lives, eats, and sleeps the fire service.” Mayor Kubert thanked the Weaver family for the times when Chief Weaver had to leave home to provide Fire Department assistance in neighboring communities. Mayor Kubert noted the “respect” in which Chief Weaver is held by others in the firefighting profession. He recalled the successful role that Chief Weaver played in persuading the City Administration to acquire eight new pieces of fire apparatus (trucks and engines).
Hudson County Sheriff and former Mayor Jimmy Davis said that he and Chief Weaver “became best friends” in 1995. Sheriff Davis recalled Chief Weaver’s emphasis on obtaining equipment for the Fire Department. He credited Chief Weaver with making Bayonne the first municipality in New Jersey to acquire thermal imaging equipment for every riding position in the department. The goal was to make sure that firefighters would see through smoke and darkness and be able to go home after they finished fighting the fire.
At the ceremony, firefighters presented Chief Weaver, his wife Lisa, and their daughters Jamie and Kendra with bouquets of flowers. Firefighters also gave Chief Weaver a display board that contains symbols of his assignments within the Fire Department throughout his career.
In his speech, Chief Weaver thanked everyone for their “kind words.” He said that he had “an amazing thirty-six-year run,” and that serving as Chief has been “the great honor of my life.” He thanked his family for their support. Chief Weaver cited his family’s service to the Fire Department, which dates back to his grandfather’s years as a firefighter from 1929 to 1964. The outgoing chief called firefighting “a life-changing career.” He said that hiring and promoting firefighters during the past decade was “a chance to change people’s lives.” Chief Weaver cited the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; Hurricane Sandy in 2012; the Coronavirus pandemic in the 2020’s; and the Newark ship fire of 2023 as some of the most significant emergencies of his career. He also recalled a fire at the former Henry Repeating Arms factory on 1st Street, where people had to be rescued after they were trapped on the second floor of the building.
He thanked former Mayor Davis for having appointed him as Fire Chief. He called Mayor/Public Safety Director Kubert “fair” and “compassionate.” The Chief expressed gratitude to former Emergency Management Coordinator Edoardo (Junior) Ferrante for his work with the Fire Department during numerous emergencies. Chief Weaver thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Bayonne.
In the latter part of the ceremony, representatives of fire battalions and squads radioed in their messages of thanks and congratulations to Chief Weaver through the public address system. Then Rev. John Fencik, the retired coordinator of Bayonne’s 9-1-1 system, closed with a prayer.
Finally, Chief Weaver led his family through the firehouse and out to the street, where they boarded a fire truck and drove off into retirement.