April 11--CENTERVILLE -- The board of fire commissioners has offered Greenfield Fire Chief Michael Winn the top position at the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department.
"Michael came across as a pretty dynamic guy," the board's chairman, Mark Macallister, said. The three-member board voted at its meeting last week to offer Winn the job.
Macallister supported current Deputy Fire Chief Philip Field for the position but the other two board members -- Edward Riley and Scott Frank -- backed Winn. Macallister made the vote unanimous in a show of solidarity, he said.
"It was my opinion that the in-house (candidate) probably had earned the position and was qualified," Macallister said.
Longtime COMM Fire Chief John Farrington also backed Field. Field said he would support the new chief.
"I wish him well obviously and hope that he's a good fit for the department," Field said. "He seems very nice."
Farrington, 64, is retiring at the end of June after 48 years with the department and 40 years as chief.
He plans to stay on through June, including during a two-week transitional period while Winn learns the ropes.
"It's going to be a little bit of a learning curve," Farrington said, adding that Winn is coming from a smaller department that doesn't have an ambulance.
It will help that Winn is a fire chief in Massachusetts so he knows the laws and that he has emergency medical technician intermediate, or EMT-I, training, Farrington said.
Winn must still pass a physical and background check and finish negotiating his contract before he is officially named chief.
Farrington's annual salary is about $140,000. The board of fire commissioners advertised the salary for the position at between $120,000 and $130,000, Farrington said.
Winn, 39, makes $93,000 at his current position. He started with the Greenfield department in Western Massachusetts as a call firefighter in 1991. He was named Greenfield's acting fire chief in 2008 and appointed to the job officially in 2010. He has had his EMT-I certificate since 1993 and has worked on a private ambulance in Greenfield for the past 10 years.
The application and interview process for the Cape position was challenging but rewarding, Winn said Wednesday.
"To come out with this result personally and professionally, honestly it feels good," he said.
Winn, who is married and has a 12-year-old son, said he grew up vacationing on the Cape and has friends in fire departments here.
The Greenfield Fire Department has 29 full-time firefighters and 16 call firefighters, Winn said, adding that the department responds to about 2,500 calls a year with 1,000 of those being calls for emergency medical services.
The COMM Fire Department has 51 firefighters and EMS personnel, not including the chief and deputy chief. The department responded to 4,033 calls in 2011 with 2,846 ambulance-related calls, according to the department's website.
Farrington said his immediate plans include getting ready for the wedding of his daughter, who will be married on his front lawn in July.
"Basically I'm going to get my house in shape," Farrington said, adding that he has enjoyed working for the district but is looking forward to retirement. "I feel that it was a privilege to be able to work for the COMM fire district for these 48 years."
Copyright 2013 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
