WESTPORT — Nicholas Marsan, the Fire Department’s deputy chief, will assume the roles of acting chief and town emergency management director, next week with the departure of current Chief Michael Kronick.

Marsan, who has been a Westport firefighter since 2007, was promoted to deputy chief in January 2022. 

Marsan will take over on May 15 from Kronick, who also was sworn in as chief in January 2022 and is leaving to take a job with the state. Kronick, whose departure was announced last month, will become fire control officer in the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Division of Forestry.

Marsan’s appointment was announced Monday by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.

Early in his career, Marsan was promoted to fire inspector and assigned to the Fire Marshal’s Office for a year before being promoted to lieutenant. He served five years as an engine company lieutenant, most of which was spent at Station 4 in Saugatuck.

A veteran of the Army and the state’s Army National Guard, Marsan was deployed overseas in 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He received the Army Commendation Medal for Valor during operations in Afghanistan, and has been the recipient of two Westport Rotary Public Protection and Safety Awards, three unit citations and two department awards.

He is a graduate of the Connecticut Fire Academy Class 41, is a nationally certified Fire Service Instructor III and Fire Officer III, as well as a state-certified fire marshal. He holds a master’s degree in history from Western Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in public administration and emergency management from Sacred Heart University.

Marsan, in a statement issued Monday, thanked Kronick for “dedicated service to this department and to the Westport community.”

Kronick’s “contributions have laid a firm foundation for us to build upon, and he can be confident that the department will continue to be led with the highest level of professionalism, dedication, and compassion,” Marsan added.

Kronick, who has been a Westport firefighter since 1998, said, “It has been an honor and privilege to serve the town for nearly 25 years. I am fortunate to have worked with talented Westport firefighters and fire officers over these two decades, and I will leave with many good memories,” according to the statement.

“I wish the department and my successor the best. I will always be proud to have been a Westport firefighter.” 

Kronick became a lieutenant with the Fire Department in 2009 and was promoted to deputy chief in October 2017.

He has been awarded the Edmund Duffy Unit Citation, the Chief Shippey and the Argenio awards for service to the department. 

Kronick also serves on the Connecticut Incident Management Team and was instrumental in forming the Fairfield County Strike Team and Task Force system. He is a member of the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew and has been on several national wildfire deployments in the West. 

In the summer of 2021, then-Deputy Chief Kronick spent more than two weeks helping battle wildfires in Minnesota and Montana as part of a crew of 19 firefighters dispatched from Connecticut.

Tooker, in Monday’s announcement, said of the Fire Department’s leadership transition, “The Town of Westport and its residents have been very fortunate to be the beneficiaries of both Mike’s and Nick’s capable and professional expertise for many years. As a result, I am confident that this transition will prove seamless.”