Hired as a Westport firefighter in 1998, he was sworn in as chief in January 2022.
Fire Chief Michael Kronick / File photo

WESTPORT — Fire Chief Michael Kronick, promoted to the Fire Department’s top post 15 months ago, will step down next month.

Kronick, hired as a Westport firefighter in 1998, was sworn in as chief in January 2022, succeeding Robert Yost. He will officially retire as chief on May 15, according to an announcement Monday by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.

He is leaving to take a job with the state, Tooker said.

An acting fire chief is expected to be appointed in the immediate aftermath of Kronick’s departure, she said.

Kronick, who was paid total compensation of $185,845 last year, became a lieutenant with the Fire Department in 2009 and was promoted to deputy chief in October 2017.

In August 2121, Michael Kronick, who was then Westport’s deputy fire chief, joined state firefighters deployed to help battle western wildfires. / File photo, Westport Fire Department

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.

“Westport and its residents have been very fortunate to be the beneficiaries of Mike’s expertise and dedication for many years,” Tooker said in a statement.

“I am grateful for Mike’s longstanding and dedicated service to our community. I wish him much success in his future endeavors.”