NAHANT — Friday was a bittersweet day for the fire department.
Austin Antrim was sworn in as full-time fire chief while the town gathered to say goodbye to now-former Chief Dean Palumbo. Antrim will be the first full-time fire chief in two years due to previous budget cuts.
State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) was present for the event and presented Palumbo with a citation recognizing his service to the town of Nahant.
Palumbo has served Nahant for 33 years, starting as a call firefighter and working his way up the ranks to working fire chief.
Palumbo said that it’s going to take a while to get used to retirement, and that there was a little feeling of melancholy, but added that the department is in great hands.
“I really appreciate everyone coming out like that. It’s been a great outpouring (of support) from the residents,” he said. “I’m really humbled by it.”
Even though Palumbo is now retired, he still will be busy. His son just had twin girls and he plans to continue with his painting business, he said.
After being sworn in by the town clerk, Antrim said that he is anxious to get to work and already has some issues he wants to address. He mentioned that the department will be looking to hire a full-time firefighter as well as new on-call firefighters.
The new fire chief also said that it’s “unbelievable” to have the support of Palumbo and other town officials.
“It’s one of the best things working for the town,” Antrim said. “It’s so small you get to know everybody really well. Everyone really comes together to get everything done.”
A change like this can sometimes have a big impact on a department, but Town Administrator Antonio Barletta believes this transition will be relatively seamless.
“We are extremely lucky to have Austin as our next fire chief and we’ve been extremely lucky to have Dean as our previous chief,” he said. “It’s not often when you have a transition from one chief to another; it can be a big change, or a big impact. Luckily for us, we’re going from one great guy to another great guy.”
Barletta added that both men “live and breathe Nahant.”
“It’s great to have that local connection. Austin lives right down the street from the Fire Department so he’s extremely accessible 24/7, which he would be either way. He’s so dedicated to the town, (and) to the department.”
