Shelly Carter
Shelly Carter is the Fire Chief in Hamden, Connecticut. After serving as Assistant Fire Chief in Hamden for a year, she was promoted to Fire Chief in July 2025. Prior to joining the Hamden
Fire Department, Shelly was a member of the Hartford (CT) Fire Department for more than twenty years. She also served as the Operations and Training Manager for the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division within the CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Her experience includes serving as the Institutional Fire Chief at the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services Southbury Training School. Chief Carter has a Bachelor's Degree in Fire Administration, a Master's Degree in Public Administration, and earned an Executive Fire Officer Certification from the Executive Development Institute (EDI). She now has her sights set on obtaining a Doctorate in Critical Infrastructure in Emergency Management. Being "first" in her career is certainly nothing new to Chief Carter, and that has never deterred her from following her dreams and meeting her goals. Whether it be as the first woman (and black woman) to promote to fire officer and/or chief officer positions in Hartford, Southbury, or Hamden, she has consistently achieved with pride, humility, and confidence. And she strives to help others do the same. In 2015, Shelly founded the "Girls Future Firefighter Camp" that offers firefighting, basic EMS, and emergency services training (such as arson investigation) to young women ages 13-18.
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