Fitchburg commission approves nationwide fire chief search, sets two‑day interview process

The Fitchburg Police and Fire Commission on Dec. 18 voted to start a national recruitment for a permanent fire chief, approving a Jan. 2, 2025 posting and a two‑day, in‑person interview schedule that includes a professional panel, a meet‑and‑greet with department staff and a public reception for finalists.

The authorization follows more than an hour of staff briefing and commission discussion about the position profile, salary floor, required certifications and how the commission will assess applicants. Staff said the job posting and a recruitment brochure will explain that the fire chief reports to the mayor and works closely with the commission; the brochure will also list department size, station locations and operating responsibilities to help candidates understand the role.

Why it matters: the new chief will lead a combination department, oversee fire operations and play a key role if the city changes how emergency medical services are provided. Interim Fire Chief Chad Grosson will continue in his interim role during the search; commissioners said they want a candidate with senior supervisory experience and a record of building relationships across career and paid‑on‑call crews.

The commission approved a process modeled on the recent police chief search: HR staff will score written essays and applications to narrow the applicant pool (staff estimated receiving roughly two dozen applications), a professional panel will interview a first set of finalists in March, and the commission will interview the final candidates on a second day that includes a short city tour and an evening public reception. Staff told the commission the pool of finalists after day one will typically be four or fewer candidates.

Staff emphasized certification expectations in the posting. The job announcement will require a fire officer certification recognized through national accreditation and an EMS certification (such as EMT) or equivalent reciprocity for out‑of‑state candidates so the city can consider leaders with EMS knowledge if Fitchburg moves toward an in‑house EMS model.

Commissioners debated an equity and diversity question proposed for the written essay packet. Staff read a suggested prompt that said in part, “Fostering an environment that promotes and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion is a very important value for our fire chief to have.” Commissioners agreed the commission and HR must use consistent scoring benchmarks for any essay that touches on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and some members urged broader wording so candidates could speak to multiple aspects of diversity (for example gender, ability, socioeconomics and race) rather than a short list of categories. Staff said benchmarks for all essay questions and the exact final wording of any DEI prompt will be refined and approved in closed session before the posting.

The commission also discussed logistics: the first day of interviews will include a one‑hour professional panel interview and a 30‑minute meet‑and‑greet with fire staff; the second day will include a one‑hour commission interview, a city tour and an evening public reception. Panel membership will include the interim fire chief, a neighboring EMS or fire chief, a police representative, a community member and rotating department representatives (a Local 311 member and a paid‑on‑call representative) to ensure multiple department perspectives. Staff said interview and rater training will be provided to community and staff panelists.

Commissioners asked staff to consider accessibility and language access for the public reception; staff said they used Spanish interpreters and headsets in the prior police chief reception and will coordinate interpreters if needed. Staff also said they will circulate a draft recruitment brochure, interview questions and essay benchmarks to commissioners before the closed‑session approvals scheduled for January.

The motion to begin the recruitment process passed by voice vote; commissioners recorded no opposition.

The commission directed staff to post the job Jan. 2, 2025, and to return in January to finalize essay benchmarks, interview questions and public‑reception details.