Holyoke's provisional fire chief resigns unexpectedly

Date: 9/15/2010

Sept. 15, 2010

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

HOLYOKE -- The resignation of Provisional Fire Chief William Kane came as a surprise to Mayor Elaine Pluta.

Pluto received the letter from Kane last week.

She said that Kane had decided to retire before a search for a permanent chief could be completed.

"He decided to make sure he had some good years with him," she said. She added that Kane wanted to spend "quality time" with his family.

He had been provisional chief for the past eight months.

"It's sad to see him go," she said.

The timeline for the appointment of a new fire chief is in the spring, she said. The Fire Commission will be meeting Sept. 14 to appoint Senior Deputy Chief William Moran as the new provisional chief.

The Fire Commission will have to make the determination, she explained, whether to go with an assessment test in March, 2011, or the results of the civil service test.

Holyoke will also have to find a replacement for Police Chief Anthony Scott, who will retire in 2011. Pluta explained to the crime watch meeting in Ward Seven on Sept. 8, she will be assembling a committee of residents, members of the city's police force and other interested parties in either October or November, which will determine whether to keep a search effort local or make it national.

"I will try to involve as many people as I can," she said.

She is also considering having the final candidates be interviewed by residents in a public forum.