WAYLAND – Fire Chief David Houghton's last day on the job will be June 30.
"It's time to go," Houghton said of his decision to retire after 38 years with the department, the past four as chief.
Houghton, 56, informed Town Administrator Louise Miller on Jan. 7 of his decision, saying serving as chief in the town where he grew up is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job that can sometimes be a grind.
"I love the job," Houghton said, "but I'm out of ideas. It's time for someone else to take the job to the next level."
Houghton believes his greatest accomplishments are the improved equipment and procedures; and, upgrading the department's 24-hour ambulance, which will achieve paramedic level in February with the addition of two staffers.
He only has a few more months on the job, and hopes to have all operations meet OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) standards by July 1.
Staffing is a "challenge" for Houghton's successor. Since 1970, the department operated with 25 firefighters until two more were added this fiscal year. The town's population has increased by 12.6 percent since 1980, when 12,170 people lived in town, according to the U.S. Census.
The Special Operations Team that Houghton started in 1999 through the state Fire Marshal's office is another accomplishment. Today, the team includes 50 firefighters and $8.5 million in equipment statewide. The SOT's first call was the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire on Dec. 3, 1999, when six firefighters died.
Houghton always wanted to be a firefighter. After graduating from Wayland High, Houghton was a call firefighter in town and joined the department full time in 1984. He worked his way up from mechanic, lieutenant and deputy chief.
There have been some tough days, like medical calls where Houghton gave residents "their last ride to the hospital."
His uncle, Roger Houghton, was a Templeton firefighter who died battling a mill fire in 1990.
"That was my incentive to keep going in the fire service," Houghton said.
The day he retires, Houghton will be 57, and will head up to his property in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, to unwind for a few months. After that, he might do some consulting.
"I want some quality time (in New Hampshire) with my two dogs and my friends for recharging my batteries. From there, we'll see what happens in the future," Houghton said.
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