HADLEY — The Hadley Fire Department took another step toward getting back to full strength through the swearing-in of its new deputy fire chief during recent ceremony in front of the 15 East St. fire station.
Robert Flaherty, who has served for the past six years as Hatfield’s fire chief, began his role as deputy chief last week, a position that had been vacant since last summer when Evan Briant left to become Granby’s fire chief.
In a livestream of the event by Hadley Media, Flaherty, of Hatfield, said he is familiar with the Hadley department and the town from a decade serving with the Amherst Fire Department. He anticipates the transition to the new role will be easy and that there will be streamlining taking place.
“I really look forward to getting to work,” Flaherty said.
The pinning was done by his wife Kerry, also a Hatfield firefighter and a dispatcher for the state police communications center, and they were accompanied by their daughter, Shannon, and Flaherty’s father, Bob.
“I can tell you he’s really going to bring a lot to our community,” said Fire Chief Mike Spanknebel. “His knowledge of ambulance service, his knowledge of firefighter training, that’s a very important thing for him in our discussions.”
Flaherty began his fire career in Hatfield in February 2002 and in November 2009 was hired by Amherst Fire. He left that department in February 2020 to assume the responsibility for all fire, emergency medical and emergency management in Hatfield, and has been its primary paramedic on the town ambulance.
Flaherty has also been on the state fire mobilization committee as the district coordinator for Hampshire County. Spanknebel is the regional coordinator on that same committee.
With the passage of a Proposition 2½ tax-cap override on June 2, the department will be back to full operational strength, with people to be hired for three full-time firefighter positions. This will also get the department back on track for being staffed around the clock.
Flaherty’s appointment comes as Spanknebel will be retiring after 27 years of service to Hadley. Starting as an on-call firefighters in the late 1990s, he has been full-time since 2005 when named a lieutenant and emergency manager for the town, and became chief in 2013 after previously being promoted to captain.
A walkout celebration will take place July 11 at 1 p.m., at the fire station, with the community, area fire chiefs, current and former firefighters, family, and friends invited to the two-hour event.
