PEABODY — Thursday promises to be a banner day for the city as 14 full-time firefighters will be sworn into duty in a 5 p.m. ceremony at City Hall.
Fire Chief Joseph Daly said this is the culmination of nearly a year of work focused on bringing the department back to full strength.
“This is a long, long time coming and is such a really big day for us in boosting the department,” said Daly. “We were short even before the pandemic and then it got worse with COVID. This is a fantastic group of kids, a really special group and it’s exciting to know that we are back at full strength.”
Daly said Peabody isn’t the only city struggling to fully staff fire departments.
“We knew all along that there was a huge need for this and that we are not alone,” Daly said. “Right next door Salem just brought on some new staff to give that city a full complement.”
The 14 were among 27 new recruits who were sworn in as reserve firefighters in early August.
Daly said the new group will undergo five to six weeks of preliminary training under the supervision of Capt. Russell Lewis, Capt. Dave Limongello and Lt. Ryan Gill, who are instructors at the Massachusetts Fire Academy in Stowe (MFA). Half the group is scheduled to begin training at MFA in early April with the other seven starting in early May.
“With so many, the academy couldn’t fit them all into one class,” Daly said. “Classes are generally limited to four per department, so it was nice of them to take all of them, seven at a time. That usually doesn’t happen, so that also is a big plus for us.”
Daly said he still remembers the day he was sworn in as a new recruit 33 years ago.
“I [still have] that feeling of excitement, pride, and honor to soon be a member of this unbelievable department and unbelievable city,” Daly said. “It’s exciting to see these kids embarking on new careers and having a fresh start to life and I hope many of them will have long careers with us. It’s a tough job at times and can get to you, but to be able to have an impact on people’s lives whey need it the most is just so rewarding.”
Daly said the new firefighters are: Vincent Villani, Tanya Lopes (who joins Capt. Tracy Collins as the second female member of the department), Andrew O’Connell, Scott Gover, Timothy Kurkowski, Matthew Soucie, Mike Soltys,Alex Dewsnap, Matthew Hosman, Joe Maguire, Daniel Mello, Kevin Mulvey, Bryan Pasdon and Anthony Robinson.
“It’s exciting to see some legacies continued and new legacies being born,” Daly said. “The addition of such a special group is a great thing.”
“I’m really happy for them, they are all good kids and this is all really good stuff for not just the Fire Department, but the entire city of Peabody,” said Police Chief Tom Griffin. “Two of them, Anthony Robinson as a dispatcher and Joe Maguire for a summer while he was in high school – worked in our department and they are really great kids.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
