Blandford Select Board Appoints Permanent Fire Chief, Orders Chester Consolidation Study

BLANDFORD -- April 1, 2024, Blandford Select Board unanimously names Adam Dolby permanent fire chief and opens a consolidation study with Chester. The board voted 3-0 at its April 1 meeting to remove the interim designation from Dolby's title, making him fire chief, emergency management director, and forest warden, clearing the path for internal promotions he said the department urgently needs. Dolby reported that a first meeting with Chester officials, facilitated by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, has launched a feasibility study on sharing a chief's position or merging other department functions, a process he cautioned could take two years and might conclude that consolidation is not viable, citing a $600,000 fire engine price tag and the absence of a joint station as major obstacles. The board also learned the town hall sprinkler pump has burned out and the post office sewer line faces a second clog requiring costly cast-iron pipe work, with the Bicentennial Park trust fund sitting at roughly $6,200, far short of what wall repairs would require.