A New Haven mother and son are making history as the first to serve together in the city’s fire department. Lisette Nieves and her son Elijah Robles were sworn in on Monday. Nieves, who drives Engine 8 for the Whitney Avenue fire station, presented Robles with his new badge and welcomed him to the department.

A Family Tradition

Robles, 19, graduated a year early from Platt High School in Meriden before starting at the New Haven fire academy in December 2025. Nieves said she used to take Robles and his older sister to watch firefighters responding to calls and bring them to the station. When the opportunity to join the academy came along, they both thought, “this is it,” Nieves said.

Four of the new graduates are children of current members of the department, including Christopher Oliwa and twins Brendan and Brian Jooss Jr. The 66th class is the first to join the department under newly appointed fire chief Daniel Coughlin, who was confirmed in April.

A New Chapter

Coughlin said that having new recruits “breathes new life” into the department. “Everybody gets sharper,” when the graduates come into the firehouse, he added. The city’s fire department is budgeted for 364 firefighters; after Monday’s graduation, the department is now down to 24 vacancies.

The department also presented one recruit with the Chief Dennis Daniels Award for excellence in both academic and hands-on firefighter skills. This year’s recipient was Joe Shettleworth. His mother, Sharon Shettleworth, said he recently left his position at the Westfield Fire Department because he wanted to work in New Haven — it’s a “great team,” she said.

Original reporting: New Haven Independent — read the source article.