It was a blaze on East Second Street, near Weeks Street, and would be the first of many in his decades of service with the department. “I certainly remember it,” said Salemme, deputy fire chief and member of the department since February 1990. “It was my first time on the nozzle to get in there and fight the fire.”

After more than 30 years serving the community, the 52-year-old Salemme told The Post-Journal he plans to retire from the fire department by the end of the month.

“It just felt like the time was right,” Salemme said. “It’s just one of those things I was kicking around and was thinking either this year or next to just pick a date. … I’m not going to retire from working entirely. I plan to enter the workforce in a different capacity. I’m still young and got many more years left to work. It just felt like this was the right time to move on.”

Salemme’s father was a longtime member of the Gerry Fire Department, which exposed him at a young age to the fire service and what it meant to help fellow members of the community. “It certainly did,” Salemme said of the influence his father had on him eventually becoming a firefighter himself. “You see your father out there and helping people in the community.”

Deputy Fire Chief Sam Salemme is pictured with former Mayor Sam Teresi and Harry Snellings, Jamestown police chief, in November 2019 looking over specifications for new fire engines. Salemme said he plans to retire by the end of the month. P-J file photo by Eric Tichy

Upon graduating from Cassadaga Valley High School in 1985, the Gerry native enrolled in Jamestown Community College where he studied math and science. Part of the course requirements allowed him to take a class to become an emergency medical technician — his first taste of EMS as he was allowed to do “ride-alongs” on an ambulance and visit hospitals.

Regarding the change in career paths, Salemme said, “It’s just one of those things. I didn’t really have a focus. I just wanted to get my feet wet and see what was out there. I didn’t really have a career in mind when I started (attending JCC).”

After becoming a state certified EMT, Salemme began working part-time for Chautauqua County Ambulance Service in 1986. He became a paramedic about a year later after graduating from the Western New York EMS School of Paramedics at Buffalo General Hospital.

Salemme became employed by Alstar EMS as a paramedic and later as a Starflight medic. He noted that at the time, there weren’t as many requests for helicopter transports as there are today, from only a couple a week in the late 1980s to a couple a day at present.

“It was an exciting career,” he said of being a flight medic. “We didn’t have a lot of flights back then, it was a little different.”

Sam Salemme

After getting married and having a family, Salemme took the civil service test and was hired at the Jamestown Fire Department in 1990. He recalled his early days in the fire service, with long coats and pull-up boots, and all the fires he responded to within the city.

He became a lieutenant in May 2000 and a battalion chief in August 2005. In the middle, he was part of a team from Chautauqua County that responded to New York City to assist in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

During his tenure, Salemme has been a member of the Chautauqua County Emergency Medical Services Council, a seat he first took in 2000, and served on the county Fire Advisory Board and Radio Advisory Board.

Becoming a battalion chief meant more responsibility at the scene of fires.

“The emergency scene responsibility falls on your shoulders,” he said of the expanded role battalion chiefs have within the fire department. “It can be a hard transition, from being part of the suppression operation to being the one in charge assigning the tasks.”

When Chet Harvey announced he would be retiring in December 2018, Salemme was approached by several people who asked if he would be interested in becoming the next deputy chief, the highest rank in the fire department.

Former Mayor Sam Teresi said choosing Harvey’s successor was an easy one. “Sam was my guy right from the beginning,” Teresi said. “He had the right experience, especially on the EMS side.”

Teresi noted Salemme’s rise through the ranks over the past 30 years, from firefighter to lieutenant to battalion chief and eventually deputy chief. The former mayor said Salemme played a big role in developing a study that outlined options for the city to handle its influx of EMS calls, many of which are being handled by the fire department.

“He’s a class act in every respect,” Teresi said. “He’s going to be missed by the community. Sam follows in the tradition of some big footsteps, that being Chet Harvey and Lance Hedlund. They were all heroes and miracle workers.”

He added of the deputy chief, “He came up through the ranks pre-9/11, through the 9/11 era and then past it. It’s baked into his DNA. He served the department admirably, and most importantly, he served the city well. He got the job done well despite what was thrown at him.”

After taking the helm in January 2019, Salemme said his first goal was to implement a cancer awareness prevention policy to keep firefighters safe. Research has shown that first responders are at a higher risk for a cancer diagnosis and cancer-related death.

“My main goal was to keep members aware of the cancer-causing agents and how to prevent it,” Salemme said.

Salemme said he did his best to stay within budget with the 50-member fire department, a somewhat difficult task at times given the city’s cash-strapped status and increase in EMS transports. “I really just followed what was being done by past deputy chiefs,” he said.

Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings, who also serves as city public safety director, said he has worked directly with Salemme for the last nine years. He said the deputy chief’s “knowledge and professionalism” will be missed following his retirement.

“I want to say thank you to Deputy Chief Sam Salemme for his 30-plus years of service to our community,” Snellings said. “He served our fire department at every level culminating with his promotion to deputy fire chief. Additionally he has served on a number of advisory boards, worked as a dispatcher and for an ambulance service. Sam’s dedication to his profession is second to none.”

Anthony Dolce, president of the Jamestown City Council, lauded Salemme’s professionalism at City Hall and wished him well in the future. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Sam all these years,” Dolce said. “He’s always been very professional and responsive at meetings as the fire department head. I had the privilege of teaching his boys and watching them grow. It’s kind of bitter-sweet seeing him go, but we wish him well in retirement.”

Salemme thanked Teresi and Snellings for their support during his career, as well as to “all members for all their support. Obviously, with the finances they’d like to do more than they can right now. I wish them luck, including the new Mayor (Eddie) Sundquist, especially with what’s going on with COVID-19 and the budget. They have their work cut out for themselves.”

Salemme lives in the city with his wife, Tracy. He has two sons, Patrick and Ryan.