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Date: 7/2/2015
CHICOPEE – Fire Chief Stephen Burkott’s last day was June 26 capping a nearly 41 year career with the Chicopee Fire Department – the last 13 of then as chief.
For Burkott, that tenure has seen many improvements and advancements in firefighting equipment and technology as well as increasing challenges.
As chief, Burkott has had to try to keep his department up to date with technology and training while coping with the realities of municipal budgeting.
He noted that when he entered the fire service, firefighters were just that. Today many of the Chicopee firefighters are trained in emergency medical services to operate the ambulance. At the same time he said the department never quite recovered from the advent of Proposition 2 ½ in 1982, which eliminated 30 positions that have never returned.
“It’s been a total learning experience for everyone who worked in the Fire Department those years,” Burkott said.
One technology that has helped firefighters do their job better is the home smoke detector. “The advent of the smoke detector was a huge accomplishment for public safety,” he said. He noted that if regulation were passed to have residential buildings with sprinkler systems houses would be even safer.
Burkott explained there is a difference between a house fire when he started in the 1970s and today. Furniture in older homes was upholstered in cotton, but today’s synthetic fabrics burn quicker. The plywood and plastic in today’s lightweight home construction causes a home fire to burn after causing a building to collapse earlier.
The common use of vinyl siding adds a danger to firefighters because “the black acrid smoke” that is produced when it burns.
“Who knows the toxins that are in that?” Burkott asked.
Luckily for firefighters equipment has changed as well. The turn-out gear they wear to a fire today is much better for promoting safety than the plastic coat and helmet and rubber boots of years ago, he said. Larger diameter hoses are used today can deliver more water.
Burkott noted equipment is “constantly changing and improving.”
The preparation of firefighters as emergency medical technicians (EMT) has also changed. “In the ‘70s, you would scoop the patient up and bring him to the hospital,” he said.
Today he noted the regulation governing the operation of an ambulance service change every year and become stricter. EMTs receive much more training every year, he added.
“There is a huge educational experience each firefighter gets before they really know their job,” Burkott said. “It’s constantly changing.”
The cost of that education and technology is daunting, though. “Not all fire departments can afford new technology. It’s very, very expensive,” he said.
A pumper truck can cost $750,000 he noted as an example.
He is thankful he has received cooperation from the mayors under which he has served, as well as city councilors who have been “very generous to the Fire Department, very helpful.”
Burkott said he has doesn’t have any substantial plans for retirement. A Chicopee native, he plans to remain a resident and he does know he will spend more time with his family, visit Maine and Nantucket and “decompress.”
“I’m going to enjoy the time,” he said.
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Mayor Richard Kos appointed Deputy Chief Dean F. Desmarais as provisional fire chief for the department effective June 27.
Desmarais was appointed after an interview process that included all current deputies, the mayor’s office reported.
“I want to thank all the deputy chiefs for their participation in the interview process,” Kos said. “I congratulate Dean on this appointment and look forward to working with him throughout this transition.”
Desmarais has served as deputy fire chief since 2010 and is currently president of the Western Massachusetts Fire Protection Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Fire Prevention Association of Massachusetts, member of the National Fire Protection Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters.
He has worked a Chicopee firefighter since 1987 and is a Chicopee resident.