RFD promotes two to Captain

On Monday, December 14, 2009, full-time firefighters Mark Emery and J. Ronald Merry were officially promoted to the rank of Captain. The Board of Selectmen hosted a badge-pinning ceremony at their regular meeting that evening.

At the same meeting, Deupty Chief (ret.) Doug Chadbourne was presented with proclamations from the Board, the MA Senate, and the MA House of Representatives recognizing his 48 years of service to the department.

Newburyport News Story

H1N1 vaccine update

The Rowley Health Department has a limited number of doses of H1N1 flu vaccine available to residents. A flu clinic will be conducted on Saturday, 12/19/09.

Contact the Board of Health at 948.2231 to register or for further information.

Engine 1 / Squad 1 Dedication

(l to r: Chaplain Hagopian, FF Joe Merry, FF Dick Gagnon, Lt James Chadbourne, DC Roger Merry, FF Mark Winfrey, FF Ron Agrella, Cpt Don Merry)

This afternoon the RFD held ceremonies to dedicate Engine 1 and Squad 1, the two newest additions to our fleet.

Engine 1 was dedicated in honor of the 12 charter members of the Rowley Volunteer Fire Protection Association and carries the designation 'Charter Hose Co. No. 1' on the front fender.

The ceremony was officiated by our chaplain, Reverend Bob Hagopian, and featured a brief speech by Selectman Robert Snow.

There was a brief interruption to the ceremonies. . .

Enjoy the video.

Dedication Ceremony

The public is invited to a dedication ceremony for Engine 1 and Squad 1 on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 13:30 hours at Rowley Fire HQ on Hammond Street.

Engine 1 will be dedicated in memory of the Charter Members of the Rowley Volunteer Fire Protection Association.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information please contact Chief James Broderick.

Facebook username

The Rowley Fire Department continues to expand our presence in the social media universe. Thanks to our dedicated Facebook fans, you can now find the RFD Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/rowleyfire.

Of course, you can still find us here at RowleyFire.org, on Blogger at rowleyfire.blogspot.com, and on Twitter @rowleyfire!

DC Chadbourne retires

On Saturday, October 17th, the Rowley Fire Department honored Deputy Chief Douglas Chadbourne on the occasion of his retirement.

DC Chadbourne joined the RFD in 1961, completing 48 years of service before facing mandatory retirement. He rose through the ranks of fireman, lieutenant, and captain, before election to the post of 2nd Assistant Chief in 1981. He would hold the post for another 28 years.

Fifty-one firefighters, family, and friends attended the party at the Carriage Pines Country Club. Doug was honored with a retirement badge, an engraved speaking trumpet, a few gag gifts, and a cake in the likeness of Engine 3.

Georgetown firefighters covered the Rowley station during the event.

Squad 1 returns!

After almost a decade out of service, Squad 1 will be returning to the RFD this month.

The new Squad 1 is a 2010 Ford F250 4x4 crew cab pickup. It will be used initially by the Chief, but it will be available for operational support and crew transportation as needed.

The new squad was purchased with penalty fees assessed on the late delivery of Ladder 1. (The contract price was substantially reduced due to the delays, leaving excess money in the budget line.) The RFD was able to augment its fleet with no further impact to the taxpayers.

Pictures and more information, will be posted at RowleyFire.org as they become available. Look for history of the original Squad 1 as well.

RowleyFire social networking

RowleyFire.org is taking the next step in social networking. Look for our Fan Page on Facebook; follow us on Twitter @RowleyFire; check the home page for recent Twitter updates.

Updates will include new newsblog posts, upcoming training and events, and important information for citizens.

Let's hope it all works as designed.

--Webmaster

We work our Chaplains hard in these parts

Unlike many fire departments, our Chaplain is an active member of the suppression forces. Here's Reverend Bob at a car fire this afternoon.

Fill the Boot

Over the Labor Day weekend, eight Rowley firefighters participated in the annual Fill the Boot drive to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Our latest effort in this long-standing tradition netted $3000.11 for the charity. Thanks to all who participated!

Brave New World

At 12:01 AM on July 1, 2009, emergency services in Rowley will undergo two major changes.

First, the Rowley Volunteer Fire Protection Association will end 82 years of dedicated service to the community. Under a reorganization plan forced by the Board of Selectmen, the volunteers will be replaced by call firefighters employed directly by the Town. The RFD will continue to use the equipment and station owned by the RVFPA under a month-by-month agreement until permanent arrangements are finalized. Many of the current volunteers have agreed to stay on under the new management, although some have taken this as the proper moment to retire.

Second, the Town of Rowley will end a 30+ year association with American Medical Response and its predecessor companies in the provision of emergency medical services. Rowley signed its first paid contract with Peter Poor Ambulance in 1975; subsequent mergers and buyouts brought Amcare Ambulance, Chaulk Ambulance, and eventually AMR into the community. Starting tonight, EMS will be provided by Action Ambulance of Wilmington, MA with paramedic units responding from Linebrook Station and Cable Medical in Ipswich as well as Graf Rd in Newburyport.

Engine 1 delivered!

Engine 1 was delivered on Friday, 6/5. It will enter service after all of the equipment has been mounted and training has been completed.

Photos should be forthcoming soon.

Engine 1 arrives at the dealer

Rowley Engine 1 from James Chadbourne on Vimeo.

Engine 1 has arrived at Greenwood Emergency Vehicles. It still needs graphics and some dealer-installed items prior to delivery.

Call Firefighters

The Town of Rowley is advertising for call firefighters. Please see the job posting and application at TownofRowley.net.

Engine 1 progress

Engine 1 is 99% complete and due to ship from the factory in Ocala sometime next week. Final prep, graphics, and lettering will be done at the Greenwood facility in North Attleboro, MA. Click the slideshow for more images.

Thanks to Ron Arnow, aka FLRon on Firepics.net, for the photos and permission to use them.

Phoenix Rising. . .

Fresh in from a Florida vacation (at his own expense,) Deputy Chief Roger Merry sends photos of Engine 1 on the E-One production line. Delivery is still expected in mid-May. More photos on the Engine 1 page.

Robert "Bobby Bear" Whitehead

The Rowley Fire Department regrets to announce the passing of life-member Robert A. "Bobby Bear" Whitehead.

Robert died Thursday, March 26, 2009 in the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington following a brief illness.

Born in Lynn on December 21, 1946, he was the son of Maria C. (Gagnon) Whitehead of Beverly and the late Ernest B. Whitehead. He had resided in Beverly for most of his life and was a graduate of Beverly High School. He was also a U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War.

Bob was employed as a forest firefighter at the Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield for many years. He also was a volunteer firefighter for the towns of Rowley and Rockport for several years. He was an active member of the Cardinal Alumni Association as well as the Legend's Drum Corps and the St. Kevin's Emerald Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. He was also a member of the Franco-American Club in Beverly.

In addition to his mother, he is survived by two daughters, Christina L. and her husband, Joseph Fasano of Stoughton and Renee J. Whitehead and her companion, Samuel Correa of Beverly, for grandchildren, Haley Carter and Nathaniel Correa both of Beverly and Benjamin and Jacob Fasano both of Stoughton, a brother, Mark Whitehead of Salem, Bob's longtime friend Sheila Blais of Beverly, his former spouse and her husband, Rita G. and Frank Ball of Beverly and many cousins.

His funeral mass will be celebrated on Monday, March 30th in the St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Cabot St., Beverly at 11 AM. Visiting hours will be held on Sunday in the Gronding Funeral Home, 376 Cabot Street, Beverly, from 1-4 PM. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Cardinal Alumni Scholarship Fund, PO Box 5054, Beverly Farms, MA 01915. Interment will be held in the North Beverly Cemetery.

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A moment of silence and brief prayer were held for Bob at tonight's department meeting. Rest in peace, Bobby Bear. We'll miss you and your sense of humor.

March Training

On Thursday March 12, 2009 at 1900 hrs there will be Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training. All members of the department are strongly encouraged to attend this important training. If there any questions please contact C1 or FF John McCarron.

Rowley Fire Department Graduates 3 from MFA class 026

Congatulations to Dave, Hannah and Ron for successfully finishing the Mass Fire Academy Call/Volounter Fire Fighter Training program. They have spent the last 7 months in very intense training. May they all have successful careers in the department.

C1

EMS con ed credits

The Essex County Fire Chiefs Association through its training and ems division have obtained a grant for on line training through target Safety.com. This grant is valid until July 31, 2009 and all member communities can access this training for free.

Currently there are 5 OEMS approved courses for con ed credits. Each class is for 1 cred hour. There is an easy registration and the classes take approximately 1 hour to complete. Once you past the test at the end you will recieve a certificate and oems approval #.

If you are interested you may follow this link www.targetsafety.com/essexcountyfirechiefs register yourself and start the courses.

If you have any questions please contact the chief.

Carbon Monoxide Safety

It's winter, and times are tough. Please be careful with your heating sources.

Rowley selectmen, firefighters in standoff over contract

The Daily News has reported on the impasse in contract negotiations between the Board of Selectmen and the Rowley Volunteer Fire Protection Association:

Rowley selectmen, firefighters in standoff over contract

As this is an official RFD website, the webmaster will keep his opinions to himself and offer three factual corrections:

First, the much-vaunted $40,000 surplus never existed. What did exist was a capital fund. $40,000 is merely the amount arbitrarily cut from the RVFPA budget request last spring. (It had been a level-funded budget request.) After the installation of a much-needed new roof on the firehouse, the RVFPA ended the year with approximately $3000 in town funds. In government this is a 'surplus' which must be reclaimed and immediately spent elsewhere; to the rest of us it is known as 'saving for a rainy day.' Without the funds in question, we would currently have a leaky roof over our multi-million dollar investment.

Secondly, the chief does have control over maintenance and over the firefighters. No item of maintenance is ever ignored when requested by the chief. Maintenance on the town-owned equipment is also performed under the Association's budget. All of the firefighters serve under a unified command system headed by the chief. He sets policy and gives the orders, as it should be. Chief Broderick receives his authority from the Office of the State Fire Marshall and in turn delegates to the firefighters to get the job done.

Thirdly, the town only has two full-time firefighters and a chief, not three. I'm not sure where the News got that 'fact' from.

Comments are encouraged below, please read them for my personal opinion.