CRANSTON, RI—A longtime local firefighter, Assistant Fire Chief Steven MacIntosh, is Mayor Allan Fung's appointment for the job of acting fire chief.
MacIntosh's appointment trails an announcement that another Fung appointee for the job, acting Chief Paul Valletta Jr., opted for retirement prior to his scheduled appearance before Cranston's City Council on Monday night.
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MacIntosh's appointment will go before the council "for advice and consent" in August, according to a news release issued by Fung's office on Tuesday.
Valletta was Fung’s first appointment to replace Fire Chief William McKenna, who announced his retirement on July 5.
Two days before McKenna actually stepped down, Jim Vincent, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP, accused Valletta of using a racist slur, citing an audio recording of a confrontation with Cranston fire Lt. Scott Bergantino in September 2017, when the lieutenant refused to command his crew to collect money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Fung said he had reviewed the recording many times and he did not hear Valletta use a slur.
MacIntosh, who started his career as a firefighter in Seekonk in 1984, joined the Cranston Fire Department in 1984.
He has an associate’s degree in fire science from CCRI along with numerous certifications in the area of fire science, arson and investigations of explosions.
MacIntosh was promoted to lieutenant in 2000, to captain of fire prevention in 2006 and to deputy fire chief, serving as the city’s fire marshal in 2011. He became an assistant chief earlier this year.
MacIntosh took part in the recent competitive promotional exam process.
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