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Date: 2/7/2023
WHATELY – The 30 year tenure of John Hannum as fire chief will end in the middle of June when he ages out of the position. Town officials now have to figure out a hiring process for a new chief, a task that hasn’t been necessary for three decades.
Town Administrator Brian Domina discussed the details of the job with fire department officials. It’s been so long since Hannum’s hiring that the job description has to be changed to reflect the new name of the town’s governing body.
“They reviewed the job description and didn’t think there were any changes necessary,” Domina said. “But there are changes necessary, in terms of language, ‘board of selectmen’ to ‘selectboard’...[and to] accurately represent the number of fire personnel. [The department] doesn’t have 50 anymore.”
The town has a “strong chief” in the fire department. A strong chief position removes decisions about emergency response services from the purview of Selectboard members, who may have no knowledge of fire and medical technology. Domina informed the board of the basic differences between strong and weak chief positions, which carries a risky loss of control for the board. A strong chief, as the name suggests, has more authority in the regulations and day to day operations of the department. The Selectboard has less control, including over the hiring and firing of personnel, the strong chief included.
It is difficult for a municipality to remove a strong chief. Finding the right replacement is therefore a high priority for the town.
Domina and the board discussed advertising for the position on the fire deptartment bulletin board and the town website. A newspaper advertisement, which costs a few hundred dollars, may not be necessary. The town has good candidates at the firehouse, according to Hannum.
“Actually, I have three very good candidates,” Chief Hannum said. “One of my captains is standing tall for that job…and the other [one is] going to do it if the other one doesn’t. Obviously, my deputy chief would be a good candidate, but he’s at an age where he doesn’t want to do it.”
In a conversation last week Hannum maintained the job has changed. Technology plays a much greater role in the duties. Two fairly recent developments in the Bay State, changes in solar arrays and cannabis processing plants, suggest that additional knowledge of how to fight fires involving hazardous materials is essential.
“The newest thing in solar fields is, they don’t want just a solar field, they want a battery system, a backup, so they can store the electricity,” Hannum said. “That makes it hazardous material if there’s a fire [and] the only way to put that fire out is to flood it.”
Cannabis processing facilities use flammable and toxic chemicals to remove tetra-hydro-cannabinols (THC) from cannabis. A fire chief, Hannum said, needs to know how to fight fires involving a variety of those toxic substances.
Structure fires are uncommon in Whately, while other types of emergency responses occur more frequently.
“We’ve had tractor trailers going over on 91,” Hannum said. “We’re out there for 15 hours for a hazardous materials incident. That’s what we do.”
Hannum agreed 20 hours weekly is sufficient to carry out the duties. “For the most part, it’s just quiet. We do a hundred calls a year.”
The board, in discussing the hiring process, saw the need for a screening committee. Joyce Palmer-Fortune, chair of the board, suggested the process would be more efficient with fewer people involved. Member Fred Baron offered to serve as the board’s liaison for the screening committee, which will also include Domina and the town’s emergency management director, Lynn Sibley.
The town is also facing negotiations for the renewal of Police Chief James Sevigne Jr.’s contract with the town.
“If we don’t take any action, come July 1 we’ll have no chief,” Domina said. “A representative of the board and I should sit down with Jim, and bring to the board a draft contract that the chief agrees with.”
The board voted 3-0 to enter into negotiations with Chief Sevigne to continue his employment with the town.