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When he retires as Sudbury fire chief Feb. 3, John Whalen reckons he has been to every major fire in Sudbury in over 40 years, responding as a member of the Lincoln department before he became Sudbury assistant chief in 2010.
The 1999 fire that destroyed Mill Village is his most vivid memory, as he recalled urging a Framingham engine to move just before a building window blew out, but there have been significant blazes at Cavicchio greenhouses over the years, and just this past year, three houses in Sudbury burned down.
“We had 2,835 emergency calls this past year, 1,650 of them ambulance calls,” Whalen said in an interview in his fire headquarters office. He noted that Sudbury’s ambulances are at the paramedic level. “We do everything in the back of the ambulance. It’s a mobile emergency room.”
In all those years, he’s only rescued one cat in a tree. “I could see it was physically stuck,” but, he added, cats can get down. “You don’t see a lot of cat skeletons in trees.” Animal and people rescues on ice and in water are more common.
Whalen comes from a fire-fighting family. His father was in the Lincoln fire department, his two brothers are in the Lincoln and Concord departments and two nephews are in Cambridge.
When Whalen started in Lincoln in 1980, the fire department wasn’t a full-time job, so he also worked for Digital Equipment Co. for 20 years. He moved to Sudbury as assistant chief in 2010 because “Lincoln was very small. It was my position or the chief, and he wasn’t going anywhere.” He became chief in 2018.
He now heads a department with 40 shift staff people and three administrative staff. The two additional people who help with administration as part of Sudbury’s senior worker program have been a major help, he added.
As he retires, Whalen outlined a wish list for the Fire Department and Sudbury going forward.
At the top is renovation and expansion of the old fire stations. The recently-completed, $6 million expansion of the station on Route 20 was a start, adding staff and equipment space to a station that is the first response for south Sudbury, which accounts for 45% of calls. That station still needs more space and bigger engine bays.
The station on Route 117 is 62 years old and can only accommodate two staff people. Whalen would like to see an expansion similar to the Route 20 station, with more staff space and bigger engine bays. “We need more smaller equipment like all-terrain vehicles and generators, but have no place to store them.”
Sudbury does have a new, taller ladder truck with a 103-ft. reach, garaged at the headquarters on Hudson Road. At 38 feet, it’s one of the shortest ladder trucks made, to fit into Sudbury’s station.
“I would also love to see the town revise its emergency management budget” to be a separate budget item focusing on preventative, not reactive, measures. Now, emergency management spending, such as for emergency shelter operations at the Fairbank Community Center, comes out of the Fire Department budget. Whalen’s first priority for emergency management is a federal grant to fix the flooding and icy road issue on Concord Road. “There are accidents and we have to close that road too often.”
Whalen also has some recommendations to keep Sudbury residents safer.
“Make sure all your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly” and are replaced as necessary. Smoke detectors last about 10 years, and carbon monoxide detectors last seven years. “Call us if the detectors go off. We’d rather come check than respond to a serious incident.”
Whalen noted that the department operates a senior safe program in cooperation with the Senior Center. “We will come out and inspect senior homes for hazards,” he said; arrangements can be made through the Senior Center.
“When people clean out their fireplaces, they need to put the ashes in a metal ash can, not a paper bag. We see a lot of deck fires from people setting ashes outside.”
The growing popularity of outdoor fire pits also means paying attention. “Fire pits should be 75 feet from structures and away from bushes and debris. And they must always be attended,” he said.
Whalen saluted Sudbury residents for taking care during the fall drought season when red-flag fire warnings were frequent. The Sudbury department responded on a mutual aid basis to brush fires all over the state during that period.
He thanked Sudbury residents. “The people of Sudbury are very supportive of the Fire Department and understand the importance of our emergency medical services.”
Now his plans include traveling and skiing and more time with his family.
Nancy Brumback is a freelance reporter who lives in Sudbury.
