NH firefighter cited for speeding resigns

By Matthew Spolar
The Concord Monitor

GILMANTON, N.H. — An on-call firefighter in Gilmanton who was cited for speeding on his way to a fire last month has resigned from the department, the fire chief said.

Matt Cole, 32, of Chichester was driving a Gilmanton fire engine to a garage fire near Loon Pond on July 7 at 2:50 p.m. when he nearly hit a white BMW sedan that had pulled off into the dirt on the side of the road to let him pass, said state police Trooper 1st Class Matt Partington.

Cole was rounding a curve too fast on Route 107 near Kitchen Lane and more than half of his vehicle left the pavement, leaving skid marks on the road, Partington said. The driver of the idle BMW had to slam on the gas to avoid the fire engine, which then overcorrected and crossed into the oncoming lane before straightening out.

The BMW suffered damage to its undercarriage because it drove into an embankment to avoid the fire engine, Partington said.

Though Cole was not clocked at a particular speed, Partington said his investigation showed Cole’s speed “was greater than reasonable under the conditions.” Cole is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 23 in Laconia District Court and faces a maximum fine of $1,000, Partington said.

Cole, who is a full-time firefighter in the Concord Fire Department, resigned as an on-call member of the Gilmanton Fire Department about a week ago, Gilmanton fire Chief K.G. Lockwood said yesterday.

Lockwood said Cole’s resignation was “unrelated” to the speeding violation. Instead, he said it was the result of Cole taking on greater responsibility in the volunteer Chichester Fire Department. Cole was named Chichester’s deputy chief at a selectmen’s meeting Aug. 3, Town Administrator Nancy Tanner said.

Cole was on vacation yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

Concord fire Chief Dan Andrus said Cole is still a Concord firefighter but declined to comment on whether the speeding violation would affect his driving privileges within the department.

“I can’t comment on anything that’s a personnel issue, but I can assure you and all the citizens of the city of Concord that the fire department takes employee and public safety very seriously and would never intentionally expose anyone to any threat that way,” he said.

The incident involving Cole was the second near-accident caused by a Gilmanton fire vehicle this summer.

The first driving incident occurred June 4, when a command vehicle crossed into an oncoming lane to pass a fire truck and ambulance, nearly striking a motorcyclist. Following an investigation by the county sheriff’s office, the selectmen placed Chief Lockwood on a weeklong administrative leave starting last week.

Lockwood returned to work Tuesday. The town has refused to say whether he was paid during his time off. State law requires all payments to public employees to be made public.