Piscitelli promoted to fire captain

DOWNEY - Firefighter Sal Piscitelli has been promoted to fire captain effective Dec. 26, 2011, the Downey Fire Department announced Wednesday.Piscitelli (pronounced "Pishitelli") replaces Capt. Bob Rapp, who retired last month after 34 years of service. As a high school student Piscitelli was a fire explorer with the Pasadena Fire Department. He attended Cal State Northridge where he earned a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology in 1994, before enrolling in Rio Hondo College's Fire Academy in pursuit of his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter. Piscitelli began volunteering as an auxiliary firefighter with Downey in 1996 until he was hired as a full-time firefighter in 1998. He was promoted to the rank of Engineer in 2002. A union board member, Piscitelli has spearheaded many charitable causes, including the St. Baldrick's pediatric cancer fundraiser and MDA's "fill the boot" fundraiser. He also supports the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life fundraiser at Columbus High School. A certified state fire officer, he attended a firefighting course at the National Fire Academy in Maryland and has been assigned as an urban search and rescue coordinator for the department's special operations division. Piscitelli also belongs to the fire department's Apparatus Committee, which recently replaced two of the city's fire engines. Piscitelli even traveled to Wisconsin to inspect the progress of the two fire engines, which are currently in service here. Most recently, Piscitelli was elected to the L.A. Operational Area's professional standards peer group, where he reviews training qualifications from fire departments in Downey, Compton, Montebello, Santa Fe Springs, Vernon and Long Beach. In 2010, he was awarded the Metropolitan Lodge Community Leadership Award. Piscitelli will be assigned to the engine company at Fire Station No. 3, located at 9900 Paramount Blvd., on the "A" platoon. Piscitelli and his wife, Yvette, were married in 1996. They currently reside in Sylmar with their two children, Jack and Hope.

********** Published: January 5, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 38