Raynham Fire Chief James Januse Celebrates Retirement after 49 Years

RAYNHAM — Family, friends, colleagues, town officials and fire chiefs from around the region celebrated the upcoming retirement of Raynham Fire Chief James T. Januse today.

Chief Januse officially retires on Sunday, June 30, after 49 years as a member of the Raynham Fire Department.

He started his career as a call firefighter for the department in 1970. In 1993, he was named a full-time firefighter, a role that he held for nine years until being promoted to lieutenant in 2002. He was promoted to be the department’s chief in 2008.

For Chief Januse, even though his career with Raynham Fire began in 1970, his time with the department began much earlier, as a child, when his father Theodore Januse served as the department’s first full-time chief. Keeping the family tradition alive, Chief Januse’s son James W. Januse is currently a Firefighter/Paramedic for the department.

“The Raynham Fire Department has been a tremendous part of my life and my family’s for many, many years,” Chief Januse said. “I was honored to follow in the footsteps of my father and now to see my son working on the department makes me incredibly proud. The Raynham Fire Department is in our family’s blood.”

Chief Januse still remembers the sound of the horn on top of the Orchard Street fire station that would sound to alert all of the call firefighters in town to respond, back when the department was mostly made up of part-time on-call firefighters.

Now, Chief Januse leaves a department that he has guided into the 21st century with modern technology and top-of-the-line equipment for his firefighters. When he started as a full-time firefighter, there were four full-time firefighters per shift. As the demand for round the clock coverage in town grew, so did the fire department, which now employs 26 full-time first responders.

On Friday, a celebration of Chief Januse’s career was held at the fire station with several fire service members and town officials in attendance. As a final salute to his career, several fire chiefs from across the region rode through the department’s parking lot with their red lights flashing as a sign of respect. The ride-through is a tradition among Bristol County fire chiefs.

Deputy Chief Bryan LaCivita will take over as chief on July 1 and said Chief Januse has been instrumental in helping to guide and mentor him throughout his career.

“Chief has always been supportive of me and has been a great influence on my career,” Deputy Chief LaCivita said. “He was my lieutenant and I was the senior guy on his shift. When he got promoted to chief, I got promoted to lieutenant and eventually deputy chief. It’s been great to be recognized by him for my hard work and working alongside him over the years. I know I have some pretty big shoes to fill come July 1 but I’m excited and ready for the challenge.”

Once he retires, Chief Januse plans to spend more time with his family and go on more fishing trips with his friend, retired Raynham Fire Deputy Chief Denis Murphy.

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