Granby moves to fill fire chief void; retired chief blames town administration for turnover

Town of Granby Police-Fire-EMS complex. —
Published: 12-18-2024 6:03 PM |
GRANBY — The Select Board took several initial steps Monday to find an interim and replacement fire chief to fill the vacancy after Michael O’Neal resigned from the position suddenly at the beginning of the month.
“I’m just trying to fast-track this,” interim Town Administrator Chris Matrin told the Select Board at the meeting, which also included a passionate statement from retired fire chief George Randell placing blame for the high turnover of fire chiefs — seven chiefs in 12 years — on the town administration.
Since the board’s last meeting on Dec. 5, three applicants have submitted resumes to serve as interim fire chief. They include retired Southwick fire chief Russ Anderson, retired Granby fire chief Dennis Gould and current Granby Fire Lt. Nathaniel Masse. The board set the deadline for interim fire chief applications for Dec. 31, and initial interviews for the three candidates will take place on Jan. 2.
“That gets us past the Christmas holiday, and you’ll then be looking at bringing people in the first week of January,” Martin said.
The job posting for a replacement fire chief will go out sometime this week, and qualified individuals can apply until Jan. 17. The Select Board posted the new fire chief’s salary at $103,500, and the job will require the new chief to move to within a five-mile radius of the fire station within a year of the job’s start date.
The board settled on the five-mile requirement after member Glenn Sexton pointed out that Granby’s housing prices average nearly $400,000, and expecting someone to take a new job and buy a house within the town’s limited housing market may be a tough sell.
“That brought us into Ludlow, brought us into Chicopee, it brought us close to the Springfield border, brought us into Holyoke and Easthampton,” said Randell, a member of the previous search committee.
Martin offered to reach out to seven people to serve on the Fire Chief Search Committee, which includes a mix of current and past members of local fire departments. Randell will once again participate in the search, and Martin will ask Deputy Chief Tyler Yvon, Lt. Al Leone, firefighter Anthony Cerini, Ron Mastorakis and Hadley Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel. The committee will review the applications and narrow candidates to a handful of finalists for the Select Board to interview.
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles






O’Neil’s replacement won’t be hired and settled into the new position in time for budget season, leaving the assistant chief, deputy chief and interim chief to craft the Fire Department budget for fiscal year 2026. The organization’s budget has been a point of contention in town for the past two years due to overages used to pay for overtime and shift coverage. Martin said previous chiefs failed to accurately budget for training and staffing, and it will be the duty of the next chief to reanalyze the budget and department structure.
“We have to be able to know what the leadership in the Fire Department is looking for and can be financially feasible. We’re going into budget season for (fiscal year) ’26,” Martin said. “We have to have some idea of what we’re doing now, because somebody’s going have to put a budget together for ’26.”
Before discussing the search for the next chief, Randell took a few minutes to read a statement that placed blame on the high turnover of fire chiefs on not only town administration but also what he characterized as the hostility of municipal leadership toward past fire department heads.
“I’m of the opinion, and I could be wrong, but it’s my opinion that this is a town administrator, Select Board and Finance Committee issue,” he said. “I am of the opinion that the town is run like a dictatorship, and if you go against the grain and aren’t a ‘yes’ person, you’re targeted.”
Randell said O’Neill was “tactically and strategically brilliant,” and focused on training and recruiting to help fill the understaffed department. While he lacked administrative experience, Randell hoped experienced municipal employees would help guide him, but instead the Finance Committee rebuked his administrative work during their meeting in May.
“The comments made by the Finance Committee members against the fire chief, and the town administrator of the Select Board fostered and festered a hostile work environment for the fire chief, and the rest as follows is now history,” Randell said.
With one paramedic on medical level and two firefighters at training academy, O’Neil had to use overtime to cover those shifts, Randell said. While during his first year as chief, O’Neill was unaware of the absent staff, his second year budget for fiscal year 2025 included a large sum of money to cover overtime.
“I assume that the chief met with the town administrator and the Board of Selectmen prior to the annual town meeting, and you folks advised him accordingly,” he said. “If he did and you were aware, you failed the fire chief and hung him out to dry.”
Randell ended his commentary by warning town administration that Granby may have developed a bad reputation within the fire service community. Chiefs talk to other chiefs, he said, and word about the issues these fire chiefs face in Granby may work against the search for a new head of the department.
“In conclusion, I feel the town owes the chief an apology and offer to come back to work,” Randell said. “While he may lack experience administratively, his tactics and strategy were brilliant. We would be hard-pressed to find another.”
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.