Chief credits 'team' for his honor
 

By Rebecca Aubut, Standard-Times Correspondent  |  December 15, 2006

Acushnet Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher said he shies away from publicity unless it is good for the Fire Department.

He was recently chosen the state's Firefighter of the Year and will go on to the national competition. But Chief Gallagher said the award isn't his alone.

"I like to say that I am fortunate enough to be the quarterback of an exceptionally good team," Chief Gallagher said. "This is as much a team award as it is an individual award."

He was nominated by Acushnet's Veterans of Foreign Wars 7239, Thomas E. Tuttle Post. The VFW lauded the chief for his efforts to ensure that seniors have free smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

"I'm exceptionally pleased to not only have been nominated but for the local chapter to think that you've done something important enough to recommend to a state group. That in itself is the honor," Chief Gallagher said.

In the 2004 fiscal year, Chief Gallagher applied for and received a $24,000 grant under the Fire Prevention and Safety Program. The purpose of the grant was to provide and install free smoke detectors in the homes of Acushnet residents who were labeled "at risk."

Initially working with People Acting in Community Endeavors in October 2005, letters were sent to all Acushnet residents receiving federal fuel assistance, alerting them to the program. By December 2005, department members had visited 105 homes and installed 189 alarms.

"We had kind of a so-so response," Chief Gallagher admitted. "We were passive about it."

That all changed Dec. 30, 2005, when an Acushnet senior citizen lost her life, the town's first fire fatality in 17 years.  During the investigation, Chief Gallagher said it was "a gut punch" to find two unopened smoke detectors on her kitchen counter.

"Here was a woman who was eligible for the program and without smoke detectors," he said. "And that bothers you in a small town."

Galvanized into action, Chief Gallagher decided "to go from a passive campaign to an aggressive campaign."

Starting right after the first of the next year, more partnerships were formed to inform more people about the program, including fliers posted in local businesses and newspapers, cable-access announcements, church newsletters and senior citizen services such as the Acushnet Council on Aging and Coastline Elderly Services of New Bedford.

By April 2006, the department visited 472 residences; 876 smoke detectors and combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were installed.

The chief said that in all, the number of residences visited represented 15 percent of Acushnet's population. Although Chief Gallagher received the recognition, he knows he couldn't have done it alone. "The nuts and bolts of this program were carried out by the firefighters in the department," he said.  "They were the guys going out during the day, going out at night, going out on the weekends, pushing the screws into the plaster, making sure the detectors were installed in the right locations and passing out fire education materials."

Chief Gallagher's name has been forwarded to the Firefighters National Headquarters in Kansas City for review, and could be chosen as the national VFW's United States Firefighter of the Year.