Lynn native, former Massport fire chief, safety director dead

The Daily ItemLYNN – Charles T. Arena, a Lynn native and former Nahant fire chief who died Tuesday, was remembered by those who knew him this week.Selectman Richard Lombard knew Arena for more than three decades and said he would be missed.”He was a good friend of mine for 30 years,” Lombard said. “He was a great, great human being and always gave 200 percent to everything. He was a fantastic guy. He was always someone you could count on and trust.”Arena grew up in Lynn and was a graduate of Lynn English High School and Harvard Business School, Trade Union Program. He was appointed fire chief for Massport Authority in 1966 and went on to become Director of Public Safety for Massport, where he oversaw the State Police, Logan Airport Fire Department, the Boston Seaport and the Mystic-Tobin Bridge.Nahant DPW Director/Fire Chief Robert Ward, who worked under Arena at Massport, said he was a dedicated public servant.”I would say Charlie (Arena) was the most important chief at Massport in 30 years,” Ward said. “He shaped the current modern day fire and rescue services at Logan International Airport and he was acting (fire) chief in Nahant for two years.”Arena started with the Port Authority in 1955, rising through the ranks from firefighter to chief of the fire department at Logan International Airport, before being appointed as MassPort’s director of public safety in 1979. Arena was elected legislative representative of the Associated Firefighters of Massachusetts for seven years and president of the firefighters union at the airport for 10 years.Arena served as a Commissioner for Essex County from 1987 to 1990.In 1999, Arena was brought on board to assist in managing the Nahant Fire Department. Arena held the part time position of special assistant to the Town Administrator for public safety on a seven-month contract. In February 2000, he was sworn in as fire chief in Nahant.Lombard, who was on the Board of Selectmen when Arena was sworn in as fire chief, said Arena brought a new level of professionalism to the department.”He brought a lot to the fire department at a time when we needed direction,” Lombard said. “He gave us direction and the fire department and town benefited from it. We were so lucky he moved to town when he did and was able to take that position.”Services for Arena are being handled by Solimine Funeral Home, 426 Broadway, in Lynn. A funeral Mass is being held this morning at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Nahant.