Lynn Fire promotes eight

LYNN – Familial pride emanated from every one of the 50-odd family members and friends of eight Lynn firefighters who received promotions during a ceremony in the Mayor’s Office at City Hall Tuesday night.”All I can say is what a great bunch of deserving guys,” Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said following the ceremonies. “I know almost everyone in here and they worked hard to achieve the ranks they have. They all look very nice in their white hats, don’t they?”View a photo gallery.The crowd that had gathered into the expansive office hushed as City Clerk Mary Audley performed the ceremony, swearing in Dan Sullivan as captain and Stephen Archer as district chief, along with six lieutenants.”These are very competent and qualified gentlemen,” Fire Chief Dennis Carmody told the crowd. “I’m looking forward to a few more years working with them.”Archer, a 19-year department veteran, had a few words to say to his family and those who stood by his colleagues as they trained and studied for the exams that led to their promotions.”This is a testament to all the support and encouragement we have going through the tests and everything to get here,” he said.Susan Archer, the new district chief’s wife, said her husband studied for nearly a year for the required Civil Service competency examination, while also taking graduate school classes, working a second job and helping to raise the couple’s four children.”It’s so loud at home he had to go to the library to study,” she said. “He deserves it. He’s a good leader.”But Archer dedicated the accomplishment to the men who motivated him to not only join the department, but also put in the time and effort to earn the promotion.”It really means a lot to the guys who inspired me and were an inspiration to me,” he said. “That’s what gave me the strength to get hereOne such inspiration he named was Councilor at large Buzzy Barton, who attended the ceremony and said he could remember Archer telling him he wanted to be a firefighter outside one of the stations over two decades ago.”I told him I wouldn’t be happy until I saw his bugles crossed, and now they are,” he said, referring to the bugle pins that adorn the district chief’s uniform.Newly sworn Lt. Donald Cordova asked his wife Lisa to make sure his tie was straight seconds before the swearing-in began. Lisa Cordova, who choked up during the ceremony, said she couldn’t be more proud of her husband, and all the other officers as well.”I’m sure they all worked very hard – it’s a great accomplishment for all of them,” she said.Edward Whittier Sr. said his son of the same name had “always wanted be a fireman growing up.” Now he had achieved that and then some as a lieutenant.”He worked very hard, and he always wanted this,” Whittier said. “I’m so happy to see him here.”Carmody said it’s a little unusual to have so many promotions at once, but a high number of retirements within the last year along with waiting for the list of promotions to be certified caused a bit of a holdup.”Usually it’s just a district chief, a captain and a lieutenant, but we had a lot of vacancies for close to a year,” he said.The department is in the process of hiring seven new firefighters to take the place of the newly promoted ones, and Carmody said he hopes to have them sworn in by the middle of July.The following people were also promoted to lieutenant at the ceremony: Norman Bourque, Jacob Bradley, Michael Galvin and Timothy Laighton.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].