Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche recognized the contributions of retired Kachemak Emergency Service Area chief Robert Cicciarella at the Feb. 25 assembly meeting.

Micciche presented him with a plaque, which he said was “long overdue,” to honor Cicciarella’s 17 years of service.

“Under his leadership, he steadily built Kachemak Emergency Services up to the service you see today, with 15 apparatus, two fire stations, dedicated volunteers and nine full-time staff providing 24/7 service out of KESA Station 1,” Micciche said. “Our goal was to present this plaque to him earlier, but we’re thrilled to have him up here tonight.”

Cicciarella officially retired Sept. 13.

“The chief made KESA like a family,” Micciche said. “I worked with him for a long time — I personally think he’s an amazing man, and we were blessed to have him for all those years.”

Cicciarella thanked Micciche for the recognition and said that his experience working in and with the borough “has just been pretty incredible.”

“Taking the department from pretty much nothing to what it is today, there were a lot of challenges, but there were a lot of great successes over that time,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without the support from the borough or the assembly, and all the volunteers that we had that were just incredible over the years. They’re the ones that really made it all possible.”

Assembly member James Baisden also spoke in recognition of Cicciarella’s years of service.

“The dedication that you had, they were lucky to have you, and I appreciate everything you did. So now, have many years of retirement — enjoy it, because you deserve it.”

Baisden, who currently holds the District 1 assembly seat representing Kalifornsky, previously served as fire chief for the Nikiski Fire Service Area for 13 years.

Find the full presentation in the Feb. 25 meeting recording at kpb.legistar.com.