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Davine selected as state’s new fire marshal

Date: 7/25/2023

NORTHAMPTON — Northampton Fire Chief Jon Davine remembers cleaning the bathrooms when he first entered the Northampton Fire Department in 1998. Now, he was just chosen as the commonwealth’s next fire marshal.

Davine, a native of Adams, spent the last two-plus decades inside the Northampton Fire/Rescue Department serving as a captain, deputy chief and assistant fire chief before officially becoming the city’s chief in March 2020. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1989-1993.

On July 18, the city announced that he will be leaving the department to serve as the state’s fire marshal starting at the end of this month.

“It sounds kind of cliché, but I’m realizing leaving is going to be harder than I thought it would be,” Davine said, in an interview with Reminder Publishing at his office. “My best friends are here and not just in this department, but I’ve got great friends all over the city in a bunch of different departments.”

The coronavirus pandemic rattled the world around the same time Davine became chief, which meant public safety planning was flipped on its head. Davine said that, at the time, the main goals were to keep everyone in the city safe and figure out different ways to provide the necessary services to the community in case people on their staff were sick.

“It was a scary time and there was a lot of unknown,” Davine said. “But we were able to keep our people healthy.”

Davine said the station was able to receive personal protective equipment swiftly during the coronavirus pandemic and he offered immense gratitude to the firefighter’s union and deputies for helping during that time. He also said he appreciated the work of then-Mayor David Narkewicz in keeping the department heads organized.

“Everyone knew what was going on in the city,” Davine said. “There were no surprises, and I appreciate that.”

According to Davine, he was part of the last group to work at the old fire station location on Masonic Street before it moved to its current location on 26 Carlon Dr. He credits then-Chief Brian Duggan for taking the department to the next level.

“We were stuck in the dark ages with aging equipment,” Davine said of that early period in his tenure with the department. “We didn’t have a lot of policies and operating standards.”

With Duggan though, Davine said the department was finally on the same page, running as one single department with different policies and procedures. Soon after, the fire department took over the ambulance services too.

Years later, Davine now believes Northampton is one of the best departments in the state thanks to effective chief leadership and extensive support from mayors like Narkewicz and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.

“We’re one of the premier agencies in the state when it comes to fire-based EMS, our training, our equipment and our call volume,” Davine said. “When I started in 1998, I think we did maybe 2,500 calls and now we’re at 8,300 and change last year. It’s gotten so much busier.”

When asked what he is most proud of while working in Northampton, Davine highlighted the relationships he formulated and the 25 years of experience he acquired.

“I’m proud of everything,” he said.

Davine said there are still challenges the department faces and will continue to face in the foreseeable future, like filling necessary vacancies.

Currently, they have an internship program with Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School with hopes of recruiting younger students to the world of fire safety, but Davine said adding talent will take a little while because of training. Davine also added that the department would love to procure a more diverse pool of candidates to the department.

“We’re not getting the interest from the younger generation in public safety,” Davine said. “I’m hoping that this internship will pan out…we’ve had some really good interns from there that are sharp and I think they’re going to be good firefighters.”

As the new marshal, Davine said he hopes to bring more of a voice for Western Massachusetts. He has been a big proponent of regional training while chief, and he wants to continue advocating for every fire department in the state, not just the bigger ones in the eastern part.

“I want to make sure that everybody, all the departments are representative from your biggest Boston department down to your Hadleys and your Adams and Cheshire departments,” Davine said. “I want everybody to feel like they are a part of the fire service and the commonwealth, and they have the same benefits as everybody else.”

Davine will be the first fire marshal from Western Massachusetts.

“After Chief Davine’s outstanding career in Northampton, I am immensely proud that the commonwealth has recognized the exceptional talent that our city cultivates in its public safety experts,” said Sciarra, in a statement. “Chief Davine’s appointment as fire marshal is a testament to his unwavering commitment to public safety. Northampton will miss him.”