By J. Michael Whalen
Times Staff
5/7/09
The town’s new fire chief is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
Brian Linehan, a 26-year department veteran who has served as a deputy chief since 1992 and lived in Milton most of his life, was appointed by Selectmen on April 30 to replace Malcolm Larson, whose retirement will take effect after June 30.
The 51-year-old Linehan, whose appointment is subject to his reaching a contract agreement with the Selectmen, said during an interview Monday he’s honored by the board’s confidence in him.
“I feel proud … I’m still trying to gather my thoughts,” he said of his appointment. “I suppose some people think they’re destined for this, but I just kind of worked my way into it. I just never had a plan [to become chief].”
Linehan said his late father, also a firefighter, was the inspiration for his career.
“My father always encouraged me,” he noted. “I think I was most proud the day I got appointed [a firefighter]. I really like the job.”
Linehan, who earned his associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in fire science from Massasoit Community College and Salem State College, respectively, said he has several goals as chief. One of his top priorities is to implement mandatory EMT training for department members, something he mentioned during his public interview with Selectmen on April 23. Although most of the town’s firefighters have undergone such training, it is still optional.
Linehan also wants to coordinate the four firefighter groups within the department so that their goals are aligned.
“I’d like to see everybody on the same page,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s bad, but I’d like to try to improve that.”
He also would like to “build the department back up in the next couple of years,” after the economy gets back on track.
“I think we’re a great department,” he said. “I think we do a lot of good stuff with a minimal amount of people … because we have good guys. They give it their all. I’d like to continue [that] tradition.”
Linehan also had strong words of praise for Larson, the outgoing chief, whom he described as a “straight shooter.”
“He’s been very good to me,” he said. “He’s allowed me to progress in my career. He’s always offered me the opportunity to learn new things, which I think is a great trait for a chief.”
Linehan added that his contract negotiations with Town Administrator Kevin Mearn began Monday and are ongoing.
The Selectmen were unanimous in their selection of Linehan on April 30. A screening committee had whittled a pool of six semifinalists to three finalists for the board’s consideration: Linehan, Senior Deputy Fire Chief John Foley Jr. and Deputy Fire Chief John Grant Jr.
John Shields, chairman of the Selectmen, said the decision wasn’t easy.
“I know all three of these individuals very well,” Shields said at the meeting. “This was a tough choice; they were very close, all three of them.”
Shields said that for him, personally, it came down primarily to Linehan and Grant. He cited Linehan’s “slightly higher” scores on tests given to the candidates by the screening committee as a deciding factor.
“When it’s kind of a tie with personal affiliations, you have to go with the professional [considerations] and the testing,” said Shields, who added, “I think Brian will do an excellent job and we all have to get behind him now.”
Selectman Marion McEttrick, who made the initial motion to nominate Linehan, said the quality of the three candidates was indicative of the “excellent leadership in the Fire Department.”
“I felt that any one of the three candidates we interviewed would perform with distinction as chief, which made a difficult choice,” she said. “The differences among them really were slight, I felt.” But she added that educational considerations were a factor in her decision.
Those sentiments were echoed by Selectman Kathy Fagan, who seconded the motion. While she said “all of them could serve” and “all three of them were great,” she added that because Linehan is “studying the budget process right now” while working on a master’s degree at Framingham State College, he had an advantage over the other two finalists.
“The firefighting piece [of the chief’s job] is obviously very important,” said Fagan. “But having that knowledge about handling the budget is also going to be very, very important.”
During the meeting, Mearn praised Larson for making sure a thorough process was put in place for the search of his replacement.
“He wanted to have a good process,” said Mearn.
The screening committee included the fire chiefs from Brockton, Marshfield and Westwood, as well as Warrant Committee member Steve Keel and Personnel Board member Michael Reardon.
Shields added, “It was quite a way to pick a fire chief. I don’t think it’s ever been done in this town like this before but I approve of the way we did it.”