He joined Vigili del Fuoco as an officer in 1958, and was assigned to the Fire Department of Rome, where he had the opportunity to operate in various events of great notoriety which occurred in the capital and in other regions.
[citation needed] He was appointed prefect in 1982[2] and from 1984 to 1987 he was the head of the cabinet of the ministry; during this period he wrote a book on the subject, La Protezione Civile Oggi.
His resignation coincided with the appointment as head of a special office of the presidency of the council for the distribution of funds to the victims of the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
[4] In 1981 he was in charge of the rescue operations of Alfredo Rampi, a 6-year-old boy who fell into an artesian well in Vermicino, near Rome.
[5] Following this incident, president Sandro Pertini urged the creation of a Civil Protection structure, which was formed a few months later with the minister of the new special department at the head, Giuseppe Zamberletti, and Pastorelli general manager.