Bedford council confirms Frank Freightzel as fire chief

Bedford Town Council voted 7-0 on March 10 to confirm Frank Freightzel as the town's next fire chief, with the appointment to take effect April 14, 2025.

Town Manager Rick Sawyer presented Freightzel's nomination under Article 4-6 of the town charter and said the selection followed an external advertising period, review of resumes and interviews of four finalists by three separate panels. "Pursuant to article 4 dash 6 of the town charter, I'm pleased to submit my appointment of longtime Bedford resident and current lieutenant of our call department, Frank Freightzel, as the town of Bedford's next fire chief," Sawyer told the council.

The nomination process included an executive panel with council members, the deputy fire chief and the town manager; an internal panel made up of department personnel and three department heads; and a third panel of external municipal partners including two fire chiefs and a city manager, Sawyer said. He also reported receiving eight letters of recommendation from people across the state's firefighting community and said Chief DeWitty supplied a letter of support.

According to Sawyer, Freightzel has 18 years of experience serving as a fire chief in New Boston and previously held chief roles in Litchfield and Milford; he also served as deputy chief in Merrimack. Freightzel holds a bachelor of science in public safety administration and has Executive Fire Officer and Chief Fire Officer designations, Sawyer said. The manager described the position as also serving as co-emergency manager and forest fire warden for the town.

Councilor Carter moved to confirm the appointment, and Councilor Briaza seconded the motion. Chair Laurie Ratke called the voice vote; all present voted "aye" and the motion passed 7-0.

After the vote, Freightzel addressed the council, saying, "I am honored and humbled to be sitting here tonight, and thank you for your endorsement of me to be the next fire chief in the town of Bedford." He described starting his fire service career in Bedford nearly 40 years ago and noted family and colleagues were in the audience, naming his wife Lisa and daughter Hannah among those present.

Freightzel also thanked current and past councils for updated apparatus and increased staffing and said that "with a favorable vote tomorrow, we'll hopefully begin construction of a new and long awaited fire station," a forward-looking remark he made during his remarks.

The council formalized the appointment to take effect April 14, 2025. No additional council directions or follow-up tasks were recorded in the meeting minutes during the motion and vote on the appointment.