ANDOVER — Fire Chief Michael Mansfield is pleased to share that six members of Andover Fire Rescue were sworn into new ranks Tuesday, and the department also gained three new firefighters.
The group was sworn in by Assistant Town Clerk Dawne Warren Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 4 pm in the Memorial Hall LibraryAt the ceremony, Lt. Kyle Murphy was officially sworn in as Deputy Fire Chief. Murphy joined Andover Fire Rescue in 1998 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 2013.
“Deputy Chief Murphy has worked tremendously hard to achieve this rank, and is more than ready to step into this leadership role,” Chief Mansfield said.
“He wants the best for our department, and our town, and he knows what it takes to support his peers and provide the highest quality Fire Rescue services possible not only to Andover, but when our neighboring communities call on us for help as well.”Murphy completed the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training program in February 2018.
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Firefighters John Gangi, Jeff Gaunt, Thomas Kennedy III, Jameson Lockhart and Ian Timmons were sworn in as lieutenants. The five qualified to become lieutenants after passing a rigorous state exam in late 2016.
Lt. Gangi joined the department in 1995; Lt. Gaunt in 2001; Lt. Kennedy in 2010; Lt. Lockhart in 2011; and Lt. Timmons in 1999.
Assistant Town Clerk Warren also swore in James Bancroft, Matthew Beirne, and Michael Uttley as new firefighters to the department on Tuesday. They completed their academy training program in 2017.
The ceremony was delayed largely due to the Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster, the recovery from which has been a focal point for first responders in Andover since the first fires broke out on Sept. 13, 2018.