LYNN — On Thursday, Jan. 5, Daniel Sullivan will replace Stephen Archer as the city’s fire chief.
In November, Archer announced his plans to retire, stepping away from nearly 29 years of service at the Lynn Fire Department. Archer initially told The Item that Sullivan would most likely replace him in 2023 but that Mayor Jared Nicholson would ultimately select the candidate.
Sullivan said that Mayor Jared Nicholson called him at around 9 p.m. Tuesday to inform him that he would, in less than two days, assume the position. Sullivan tested for the role a year ago, and had completed the Executive Fire Officer Program, a highly competitive four-year national training course for high-ranking firefighters.
“I guess my whole career has kind of steered me towards this. I started taking some classes at the Mass Fire Academy and found a love for taking classes. I enjoy leadership management, productivity stuff, and it kind of led down the path of taking national level classes,” Sullivan said.
As chief, Sullivan said he hopes to continue Archer’s work of bringing Lynn Fire into the community with youth programs and public events. He referenced the Youth Fire Academy as one of the programs he would like to expand as chief.
“Archer has done a really good job of trying to get the department back into the community, whether it be through his youth program or just trying to educate the younger generation on what it takes to become a firefighter and the process of getting there. In today’s age, people aren’t thinking of these types of jobs, so it’s going to be more of a challenge for us to get the right people to get the word out on how to become part of the process,” Sullivan said.
In addition to expanding community engagement programs, Sullivan said that he hoped to create mental health training programs to educate firefighters on how to identify potential mental health problems after traumatic experiences on the job.
“A lot of what we do is challenging. Some of the things that we see, most people don’t like to see. It not only affects us, but it affects our families as well. So if we take care of our people, it will not only help the community, but help the family as a whole,” Sullivan said.
In the Executive Fire Officer Program, Sullivan conducted applied research on mental health issues in the Lynn Fire Department. After surveying 150 Lynn firefighters, Sullivan found that a significant portion of the department struggled, in one way or another, with mental health issues.
Sullivan conducted a firefighter mental health training program to help combat the issue.
“It took a couple of weeks to do, and part of the class was just letting them know how their minds worked and how we process tragic events. At the end, we gave them resources that they could use to go and find help if they thought they needed it. We’re not psychologists, so we certainly couldn’t diagnose anyone. It was more of an awareness class. From that, I heard it helped quite a few people,” Sullivan said.
In a written statement, Archer said that Sullivan had all the qualities necessary to become head of the fire department.
“Dan Sullivan is well prepared to step in as Chief of the Lynn Fire Department. He has all the personal strengths and character traits that you would hope for in an individual filling that role,” Archer wrote. “He is a lifelong Lynn resident and a very dedicated public servant who devotes much of his own time to community service. In addition, he has earned the respect of his peers and all those who have had the pleasure of working alongside him. He is an excellent choice to lead the fire department.”
