Town Manager Hopes To Name New Framingham Fire Chief in February

Framingham Fire Chief Gary Daughtery is resigning, as of January 31.

Framingham Patch, in November, was the first media outlet to announce he was leaving.

Daughtery was a finalist for the Hopkinton Fire Chief, but has since withdrawn his name. Daughtery was the Hopkinton fire chief and interim Town Manager in Hopkinton, before coming to Framingham in 2008.

Tuesday night, Framingham Town Manager Bob Halpin told Selectmen he hoped to hire a new fire chief by “early February.”

The deadline to submit a resume and application was January 8.

“I will provide an update on the response we have received in the near future. Moving forward, we plan to utilize an Assessment Center as part of the selection process and have severalproposals from qualified consultants to manage that process for us. It is our hope that we will be able to complete that process by early February,” Halpin told Selectmen.

Halpin said he has had “several meetings with the union leadership and with the deputy fire chiefs, regarding the transition.”

“Based on my interactions there is a strong desire within the department for fire chief have a strong experience and knowledge in fire service operations and incident command,” said Halpin. “I have kept that desire in mind as I consider the appointment of an interim chief. I will be advancing a proposed interim chief appointment soon.”

In regards to Daughtery, Halpin said he wanted to acknowledge the “long and accomplished career in the fire service – both in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He is leaving a strong best-class fire department that responds to a wide range of emergencies, fires and accidents on a day to day basis with professionalism and effectiveness. I thank him for his contributions here in Framingham.”