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Date: 7/22/2020
BLANDFORD – The Select Board recently appointed retired Easthampton Fire Chief David Mottor as the town’s newest Fire Chief.
A welcoming and swearing in ceremony took place on July 16 in the parking lot in front of Town Hall.
Select Board member Thomas Ackley, who is also deputy chief and member of the Fire Department for more than 40 years, welcomed Mottor to the town and shared a few words on behalf of the select board.
“For a time when you hear that voluntarism is dead, that is not the case in Blandford,” Mottor said after his first week. The Blandford Fire Department is all volunteer besides the Fire Chief position, with 18 to 20 active volunteers.
Asked what his first impressions were of the town one week in, Mottor joked, “I think they lied to me, they’re busier than they said they were. We’ve had one call every day since I’ve been chief, some days two or three calls.” The calls included trees that came down taking wires down, and a bunch of medical emergencies. The Fire Department serves as first response on those calls, then waits for the HIlltown Community Ambulance to come, he said.
Mottor said he was getting a crash course in Blandford, a town he knew from visiting the ski area, and driving through in the fall. Previously he served 30 years in the Easthampton Fire Department, the last 11 as chief. Retiring from that full-time position, Mottor is part-time in Blandford.
“I’m fortunate to have inherited a really good department,” Mottor said. “This is basically how I started my firefighter journey as a call firefighter, and this is how I wanted to end my career, working with people who want to do it for no other reason than giving back to their community.”
Asked what his goals are for the Blandford department, he said one goal is to buy a new tanker truck in the near future. The Annual Town Meeting approved a $200,000 transfer from Free Cash for that purpose. Mottor said Engine One Engine carries 1,250 gallons of water, and they are looking for a truck that will carry a minimum 2,000 gallons of water.
“Without having fire hydrants through town, you’re relying on the water you bring with you to the fire,” he said.
Other goals include keeping members in the most current fire fighting gear, and at some point, a new fire station.
Blandford Town Administrator Joshua Garcia said in an announcement that he looked forward to collaborating with the new fire chief to “come up with creative solutions together that will help mitigate our challenges and move the department forward.”
Garcia also thanked former Fire Chief Ed Harvey who was present during the welcoming ceremony for Mottor.
“I wish him well with all future endeavours as he proceeds forward with the next phase of his career,” Garcia said.