New Turners Falls fire chief, captain sworn in

TURNERS FALLS — Dozens celebrated Turners Falls Fire Chief Todd Brunelle and Capt. Trisha Dana during a swearing-in ceremony at the station Saturday morning.

The ceremony, which began at 10:30 a.m., was attended by loved ones, chiefs from area fire departments and the entirety of the Turners Falls Fire Department. Cake and apple cider accompanied conversation after Brunelle and Dana formally took their oaths.

“This is a wonderful occasion for two wonderful people being promoted and continuing their firefighting careers,” acting Deputy Chief Kyle Cogswell said.

Dana, who was sworn in first, joined the Turners Falls Fire Department as a call firefighter in 2001 before becoming full-time a decade ago. She began serving in the capacity of captain on April 17.

Embracing newfound consistency after a pair of maternity leaves and the responsibilities of being a single mother split her career into segments, Dana said her promotion was timely.

“It was just time,” Dana said. “Family comes first for me, but also, the Fire Department is sort of a family-first type of career.”

Brunelle began service with the department as a call firefighter in 1997 before joining the career force in 2000, becoming a captain in 2012 and officially beginning service as chief in late June. He explained that while he didn’t initially apply to be chief after Brian McCarthy stepped down on May 7, he began to consider it more once he started acting in the position.

“I would say part of (deciding I wanted the job) was getting a taste of what it’s like,” Brunelle said. “Being in a position of knowing how good the staff is, I knew I wanted to be a part of that leadership.”

As the department’s leader, Brunelle said he will promote practices that will chiefly expand safety and education. This, he said, involves “maintaining constant daily readiness” and “keeping (firefighters) safe and well trained so they can protect the life and property of the residents.”

“The crew that works here full-time does an amazing job,” Brunelle said. “What I would like to do is help them improve at what they do.”

Dana said she and Brunelle are so “invested in making this a better place” because of how rewarding helping the community has been.

“We’re a very small department, but the staff goes above and beyond … and because of that, the community takes care of us and looks out for us,” she said.

Brunelle said another focus of his will be educating the public as to how the firefighting landscape has changed over time. For example, he said firefighters respond to a broader array of emergencies than ever before.

“What I’d like to do going forward is bring awareness of what the job is. Firefighting today and the hazards and the responsibilities of firefighters is a night and day difference from what it was 40 or 50 years ago,” Brunelle explained. “When I started here full-time, I probably went on 400 to 500 calls a year. Nowadays, we probably go on 1,600 calls a year. … Anything and everything that goes wrong, people call the fire department.”

Although residents are calling upon firefighters to respond to more emergencies than they had previously, having familiar faces consistently in town can make disastrous days a bit less stressful, Brunelle expressed.

“When we get these calls and we’re going on service,” he said, “they’re having one of their worst days, but they recognize us.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.