Fire Science Scholarship Named After Beloved Professor Hopes to Keep Deeply Rooted Local Fire Company’s Legacy Alive

During the University’s undergraduate Commencement ceremony last spring, Professor Martin O'Connor, ’76,’26 Hon., delivered the keynote speech to the graduates. What came afterwards was something he didn’t expect.

President Jens Frederisken, Ph.D., announced the creation of the Martin J. O’Connor Stevens Heights Engine Company #5 Fire Science Endowed Scholarship Fund. Established through a generous donation from the Stevens Heights Volunteer Engine and Hose Company #5, a West Haven-based nonprofit, the fund will support deserving students who follow in Prof. O’Connor’s footsteps in pursuing careers in the fire service. Prof. O’Connor served in the New Haven Fire Department for 30 years, retiring as chief of the department in 1998.

Stevens Heights Engine & Hose Co.#5 is one of five volunteer companies part of the West Haven Fire Department.

Originally focused on fire suppression, the department, which dates back to 1888, grew to encompass all aspects of public safety. In 1981, the department became one of the first in the region to introduce a paramedic program, underscoring its commitment to emergency medical care.

The Stevens Heights building and the land were privately owned by Stevens Heights Engine Co. No. 5, making it unique, as the other four companies and their property are owned by the West Haven Fire Department.

In fact, the land that Stevens Heights sits on was once owned, and later donated, by Michael Bounasora’s great grandfather. Buonasora is one of the trustees of the fire company who spent 34 years as a career firefighter, rising to the rank of captain and six as a volunteer.

He and fellow Stevens Heights company trustee Leonard Adams, both second-generation firefighters with strong emotional family ties to Stevens Heights, are the driving forces behind the newly established endowed scholarship.

“Both Lenny and I have been long-time members of Stevens Heights Engine Company #5, since the late 1970s & early 80s,” Buonasora said. “The property that the building is located on was donated to the company back in the 1950s by my great-grandfather, Angelo Giammattei, and his brother, George. Since the dedication of the current fire station, there has always been a member of my family who was a member there, including my grandfather, my father, my brother-in-law, and countless other friends and relatives.”

During that time, Buonasora said the company was a separate entity that existed within the West Haven Fire Department.

“We owned our own building and property, raised our own funds and paid our own bills,” he said.

"I personally could not think of anyone who would be more deserving than Chief O'Connor for this recognition." Michael Bounasora, trustee, Stevens Heights Engine & Hose Co.#5

However, over the years, the ability to self-support the fire company had greatly diminished. While a small monthly rent check from the Department would satisfy the ability to continue to operate, larger costly repairs were starting to pile up, and the company couldn’t keep up.

“The membership realized that they were few in number, low on funds, and no longer capable of maintaining it in proper condition,” said Adams, who became a member at the Stevens Heights company in 1975 and served in various positions, including as captain from 1980-1981.

The West Haven Fire Department offered to purchase the building and property, and, after two years of negotiations, both sold recently for $50,000.

The volunteer company then had to decide what to do with those funds, so Adams suggested a “donation to a scholarship fund or a nonprofit organization related to the fire or EMS services as a memorial to the volunteer fire company, recognizing that the days of the volunteer fire company were numbered.”

That’s when Adams and Buonasora met with University leadership to propose the idea of establishing an endowed scholarship in Prof. O’Connor’s honor.

The goal of the Martin J. O’Connor Stevens Heights Engine Company #5 Fire Science Endowed Scholarship Fund is to support an upper-class student at the University of New Haven who is pursuing a career in fire science.

“It is our hope that this scholarship will allow a dedicated and qualified student, with possible limited means, to continue with their studies and go onto a fulfilling career in the fire service,” Buonasora said. “Additionally, this scholarship will, hopefully, keep the name Stevens Heights Engine Co. No. 5 from being lost in time.”

In his 40 years as a West Haven firefighter, Buonasora said he has worked with multiple graduates of the University’s fire science program, many of whom have gone on to high-ranking leadership positions in West Haven and in other fire departments.

While both Buonasora and Adams never worked with Prof. O’Connor, his knowledge and reputation within the fire science industry preceded him.

“With all of his attributes and accomplishments, as a career firefighter, former chief of the New Haven Fire Department, leader of the University’s Campus Ministry, and his degree in law, I personally could not think of anyone who would be more deserving than Chief O'Connor for this recognition,” Buonasora said. “All members of Stevens Heights Engine Co. No. 5 consider it to be the highest honor to have our name on the same scholarship as Chief O'Connor.”

Adams even discovered that when Prof. O’Connor was a new fireman in New Haven, his first assignment was on an engine driven by Adams’ uncle, a career firefighter for many years.

Those interested in making a contribution to the Martin J. O’Connor Stevens Heights Engine Company #5 Fire Science Endowed Scholarship Fund can click here.