Amherst ready to hire new fire chief

By SCOTT MERZBACH and OWEN BOSS
Staff Writers

AMHERST — A new fire chief may be close to being named in Amherst as contract negotiations with a recommended candidate are about to begin.

Town Manager Larry Shaffer said Wednesday that he is talking to Walter O. Nelson, 52, deputy fire chief of Holyoke, and starting to seek references and completing background checks after Nelson won the full support of an eight-member search committee. There has been no job offer yet, Shaffer said.

“He is very competent. We’re very impressed with his skills, very impressed with his personality,” Shaffer said of Nelson Friday.

Nelson, deputy fire chief since 2002, has served the Holyoke Fire Department for more than 28 years. He heads up the western Massachusetts hazardous materials response team and has also earned kudos for meritorious conduct as a firefighter from the commonwealth.

“I’ve been preparing for a job like this my whole career,” Nelson said. “I’m a lucky man, I’ve been able to work in a great fire department for 28 years and I’ve worked with some great folks, learned from some people and now I have the opportunity here to be part of a department that is just as good, just as great, and just as dedicated. What’s better than that?”

Although he said he realizes that serving a town like Amherst would take a considerably different approach than fighting fires in Holyoke, Nelson said he feels he has the skill set to suit the job.

“In terms of size (Amherst and Holyoke) may be different but in terms of population it’s not that grand a difference. They are two completely different communities, and that is of course a challenge,” Nelson said. “The good thing is they both have good fire departments and both care a lot about public safety.

During his time with the state haz-mat team, Nelson said he got to meet several of the firefighters in the Amherst station, and has enjoyed working with all of them.

“I’ve known folks from Amherst for a while, we run in the same circle, so it’s a case where I have some degree of familiarity. But if things work out, I’m still going to be the new guy,” Nelson said.

The Fire Department is currently being led by interim Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren, an assistant fire chief who decided against seeking the permanent position to replace Keith Hoyle, who retired as fire chief in August after 10 years in the position. Six fire chief candidates were interviewed last week over two days by eight panelists, and these semifinalists were given a fire problem to solve on the third day. Two were internal candidates, Shaffer said.

After the interviews, seven of the panelists had one person as the elite candidate, and all eight had Nelson in the top position after the fire problem.

“This finalist was, in the committee’s opinion and in my opinion, the best candidate we saw,” Shaffer said.

The town received 22 resumes for the position advertised in October. A paper screening in December reduced this list to six candidates.

The position is advertised at a salary range of $95,000 to $105,000, and the job summary states that the fire chief is “responsible for the planning, directing, and administering all activities of the Amherst Fire Department, to include but not limited to fire suppression, fire prevention, fire inspection, emergency medical response, emergency management, hazardous material response, and other related duties as assigned.”