WHATELY — With Fire Chief John Hannum reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age in June, the Selectboard appointed a screening committee Tuesday night to interview his successor.

Hannum, who has served as fire chief for 19 years and nearly 52 years total on the force, will turn 70 in June and is mandated to retire due to Massachusetts laws, which require firefighters and police officers to retire at the age of 65. Small towns, however, are able to submit a petition to the Legislature through Town Meeting to extend that limit if the individual is physically and mentally fit for the role, which is how Hannum has remained chief for the last five years.

As his retirement date approaches, the Selectboard has posted the position and convened a three-member screening committee to interview candidates. The committee consists of Town Administrator Brian Domina, Selectboard member and Fire Department liaison Fred Baron, and Emergency Management Director Lynn Sibley.

Domina noted the position is considered a “strong chief,” meaning the position is granted full authority in the administration of his or her fire department, including hiring and the establishment of rules and regulations. A chief can be appointed for up to a three-year period.

In preparation for the candidate search, Domina and Baron said they’ve had some preliminary conversations and that several current firefighters may be interested in the chief’s position.

“I think at this point we need to move forward with advertising the job vacancy,” Domina said. “We know there is interest within the department.”

The Selectboard initially discussed if the full board should take on the role of screening candidates, but Chair Joyce Palmer-Fortune said that can sometimes “put a little more burden” on the hiring process and a screening committee has been effective in the past.

“That’s something we’ve done in the past and it seemed to have worked pretty well,” Palmer-Fortune said. “It sounds like we’re going to have some candidates. … We won’t have to look too far.”

While the new chief wouldn’t take over until June, Domina noted town officials want to get a candidate hired so he or she can have some overlap with Hannum.

The job is now posted on Whately’s website. It is listed as a part-time fire chief position for 20 hours per week. The town requests resumes and cover letters be sent to townadmin@whately.org by Feb. 16. The job description can be viewed at bit.ly/40s9jML.

Reflecting briefly on his time with the Whately Fire Department, Hannum said the best part of his job is ensuring public safety.

“I enjoyed it. I enjoy every minute I do things,” Hannum said by phone. “My role is to help people and have them be safe — that’s the bottom line.”

The day-to-day responsibilities, Hannum said, are simple, but as time goes on, the role has become more and more complex due to ever-changing regulations and new industry standards.

“The longer you stay, the easier it gets, but with that being said, it’s the new technology that kills me. It’ll kill anybody,” he said. “In today’s world, I now understand the solar fields, I understand how they process marijuana, all these things you have to learn.”

Hannum will continue to serve as Whately’s fire chief until his 70th birthday in mid-June, which will mark his 52nd year on the force.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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