Jonathan Barbagallo wears a lot of hats in emergency services

By Colleen Gundlach

The fire at the Norfolk Curling Club on December 18, 2011, was devastating for Norfolk as a whole, but was beyond description for the first responders that night. Since Norfolk’s volunteer base is a small group of people who wear many hats, some of these responders were at the scene in several capacities. Jonathan Barbagallo describes it as a “conflict of balancing emotion with the safety factor.”

Barbagallo served that night and the next day–more than 48 hours straight–as a firefighter, an ambulance attendant, the town’s public information officer and as the “head ice guy” for the Curling Club. He was in the third unit to respond to the burning building, helping his fellow firefighters at their 24-plus hours of active firefighting while at the same time dealing with the press and trying to salvage whatever could be saved from the building. It was a conflict that faced many of the volunteers on site that December night.

For Barbagallo, the event was an example of the kind of commitment he has always felt for the town in which he was born and raised. He credits his dedication to the community and his sense of duty to serve to his parents, Laverne and Lou Barbagallo. “I watched them through the years, giving of themselves in so many ways,” he says. “Every organization, club or group that needed people, they were there.”

While his parents were involved in civic and governing boards such as the Norfolk Children’s Foundation, Botelle PTO, the Meadowbrook and Norfolk Library boards and the Affordable Housing Committee, Barbagallo’s own passion quickly became emergency services.

When he was 14, he joined the Explorer Program at the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) at the urging of a friend. “I was hooked,” Barbagallo says. He had to wait until age 17, however, before he could take an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class in North Canaan.

As soon as he turned 18, Barbagallo teamed up with the Norfolk Lions Club Ambulance squad, and now, 23 years later, he is still serving as an EMT for the group. He is also a firefighter with the NVFD and serves as the town’s emergency management public information officer. In that role he is often called upon by other towns to interact with the press and keep the public updated on incidents and emergencies where multiple towns are involved.

His career in emergency services parallels the skills he acquired in his volunteer work. “My life has been a series of lucky and fortuitous breaks that I was smart enough to take advantage of,” he says. The first job for which Barbagallo was compensated was as a lifeguard, then supervisor, at Tobey Pond, followed by a 10-year stint as a dispatcher for Litchfield County Dispatch (LCD), the agency that dispatches and coordinates response to 911 emergency phone calls. He still volunteers on the LCD Board of Directors.

His partner at LCD referred Barbagallo to a job with Life Star at Hartford Hospital, which opened up a new area for him in emergency services. He now found himself dispatching, coordinating medical information and tracking latitudes and longitudes in order to direct the emergency helicopters to the sites where they were needed.

When a federal grant became available following the World Trade Center attacks, Barbagallo left Life Star after eight years to become a member of the Bioterrorism Preparedness group for the northern tier of Connecticut. When that funding dried up, he joined Vintech Management, a company that staffs more than 18 ambulance services statewide. There, as human resources manager, Barbagallo is responsible for recruiting and mentoring young people who want to be in the emergency medical services. “I stress to them the importance of their reputation,” he says. “They need to do their best at what they do and be conscious of where their allegiances are. Relationship building is important.”

Barbagallo is outspoken about the need for more volunteers in Norfolk. “In order to be successful, every organization, club or group in town needs people to volunteer,” he says. “Too often the same people are trying to organize and run all of the organizations in town. Whether it is the Curling Club, the Norfolk Now Board of Directors [he is a member of both] or the church [he is in charge of audiovisual equipment at Immaculate Conception Church], or any other organization, more people are needed to join in.”

Stressing that there are many volunteer positions open in varied groups, Barbagallo urges, “Don’t hesitate to just show up. Don’t wait to be asked. There are varied levels of commitment needed in all organizations, and you can choose what works for you. If you are enjoying what you are doing, then the icing on the cake is that it benefits the town.”

Photo by Bruce Frisch.