Boston Dep. Fire Chief Named New BFD Commissioner

A new Commissioner/Chief of the Boston Fire Department has been selected. 

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh on Monday announced that he plans to appoint Chief Joseph E. Finn as the next Commissioner/Chief of the BFD, assuming the duties from current Interim Commissioner/Chief John Hasson. 

This past March, Walsh announced that FACETS, a management consulting firm, had been selected to help identify the permanent commissioner of the department. Finn is expected to be formally sworn in within the coming weeks, city officials said Monday. 

"Deputy Chief Finn possesses a broad and impressive understanding of the Boston Fire Department, including personnel, public safety, and administration," Walsh said in a statement Monday. "Interim Commissioner/Chief Hasson has shown exceptional leadership and I'm grateful for his service as he passes the torch to Chief Finn. Chief Finn's experience and leadership style, along with his commitment to diversity and fairness, will help move our Fire Department into an even more successful era of service to the people of Boston."

Finn has been a member of the department since October 1984, rising through the ranks to the role of Deputy Chief of Personnel, of which he was named in 2001. In that role, was responsible for the recruitment, selection and hiring, as well as contract enforcement, employee assistance and discipline. Since 2005, Finn has served as a Division Commander, in charge of administrative functions, fire ground operations, hazardous materials and technical rescue responses in Division One, according to officials. 

Moreover, Finn has helped establish an EMT training program within the department that increased the number of EMTs on the Boston Fire Department by 50 percent. He has also served as a committee member on the Mayor's task force for the integration of Boston Emergency Medical Services into the BFD, and a committee member for the Massachusetts Human Resource Division in the development and implementation for a new entry-level firefighters test. 

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