Deputy Chief Henry Kydd will move up to head the New London Fire Department next month after Chief Ron Samul retires.
Mayor Daryl Finizio announced Kydd's appointment on Wednesday afternoon. Kydd will become chief on April 1.
Kydd has served with the NLFD for 34 years. He spent his first eight years with the department as a firefighter/EMT before serving another eight years as a lieutenant. Kydd then spent 17 years as a batallion chief before Finizio named him deputy chief last year.
Samul has been with the department since 1970 and became chief in 1985. At an Elks ceremony earlier this month, Samul was recognized as one of the longest serving fire chiefs in the Northeast and credited for pursuing regionalization efforts with neighboring departments and serving several times as New London's interim city manager.
The City Council approved funding for the deputy chief's position, which the fire department had requested for several years, in February of 2012. Kydd was named and sworn in to the post a month later.
Zak Leavy, Finizio's executive assistant, said no decision has been made on the appointment of a new deputy chief.
