Joseph Carruba, former fire chief for the Cumberland Fire Department, died Saturday after he had struggled with health issues for the last few years. Carruba was a member of the fire department for 64 years, serving as the chief for 50 of those years.

The fire department and city council agreed a few months prior to his death to name the station in his honor, displaying his name on the front. Fire station renovations also include a fresh coat of paint.

“The city council passed a resolution to change the name of the fire station from Cumberland Fire Station No. 1 to the Joe Carruba Fire Station,” said current Cumberland Fire Chief Edward Bush. “Joe’s 100th birthday would have been in November and we were working toward it’s unveiling before his unfortunate passing.”

“He’s a legend to us and he set the footprints for what the station is today. Nowadays, we have to go through a lot of different training before we can even respond to a fire, but Joe was before his time when it comes to training. He was monumental on the training aspect.”

Bush said Carruba was the longest serving fire chief in Cumberland and possibly even the county and state.

“He was a small business owner in Cumberland, co-owning a grocery store with his brother,” Bush said. “He was very community oriented and you never heard anyone talking bad about him. He could write someone a citation and both of them would still leave smiling.”

Bush added Carruba was very honest in his line of work and duty, saying he “called stuff like he seen it.”

“Joe was a true public servant,” he said/

Carruba’s visitation is Friday from 2 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the Tri-City Funeral Home in Benham with funeral services on Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Stephen Church in Cumberland. Carruba’s friends and family are welcome to attend.