STURBRIDGE – In a 5-0 vote, the Board of Selectmen named Paul D. Ford of Swansea as the interim fire chief.
Mr. Ford served as the Brookline fire chief for almost five years, retiring in May.
In addition, Mr. Ford served as the Fall River fire chief for more than three years. He worked on the Fall River Fire Department for 28 years.
Mr. Ford is a fire instructor at the Massachusetts Firefighters Academy and examiner/chief examiner for the Massachusetts Fire Training Council.
According to Town Administrator Leon A. Gaumond Jr., Mr. Ford is a “budget hawk” who closely tracks expenditures and put requests for purchases on hold until he is certain the budget can support the purchases.
According to the town administrator, Mr. Ford bragged that he has never needed a reserve fund transfer as fire chief.
In addition, Mr. Ford has a “strong” EMS and grant-writing background, Mr. Gaumond said.
“I have found him (Mr. Ford) to have exceptional leadership qualities which will not only serve the town well in the short term but also will serve the town in its search for a new full-time chief.” Mr. Gaumond said. “After meeting and speaking with him for a short time, I clearly felt Chief Ford would be a great fit for our community and exactly what our department needs in this time of transition and what the town deserves.”
Mr. Ford’s contract goes into effect Thursday and will last until a permanent fire chief is hired. He will be paid $2,000 per week and given a one-time clothing allowance of $500.
The five-member Fire Chief Search Committee was also named and it includes three Sturbridge residents: Patricia Mantia, who has served as a trainer and consultant to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy for more than two decades; Frank McNeil, who has many years of ambulance experience managing a service in the private sector; Russell Chamberland, who has more than 35 years of service to the Sturbridge Fire Department.
In addition, Auburn Fire Chief Stephen M. Coleman Jr., who served on the previous Fire Chief Search Committee; and Mr. Gaumond, who has led three previous fire chief searches in his career, rounds out the search committee.
The Fire Chief Search Committee will be tasked with helping the town administrator find the most qualified candidate for fire chief, after the abrupt departure of Fire Chief David E. Zinther, who resigned July 19.
Chief Zinther’s appointment as fire chief was unanimously ratified by selectmen on Dec. 14, 2014, and he started on Jan. 21, 2015.
Chief Zinther – previously captain at the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District and captain and training officer for the Westmont Fire Department, both in Illinois – received a starting annual salary of $93,050.
Before that, Sturbridge Police Chief Thomas J. Ford III served as acting fire chief since April 2014, after the retirement of Chief Leonard E. Senecal, a 35-year veteran of the force, who was placed on paid administrative leave after a consultant’s report critical of his management.
