By John Collins
The Lowell Sun
PELHAM, Mass. — Bagpipes played. He took an oath. He kissed his wife. A reception followed.
It was understandable that Pelham Fire Chief James Midgley later compared his official swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday night at Town Hall to his wedding.
And similar to any new head-of-household, Midgley, 40, told The Sun that his top goal as chief is to put a new roof over his firefighters’ heads. The town also urgently needs a third fire engine, he said.
“Obviously these are very bad economic times, and my short-term goal is to come up with a budget that’s not going to hurt taxpayers,” said Midgley. “My long-term goal is to get a new fire station. That need is only going to get greater as the town grows.”
A breakdown in the septic system at the current fire station last month was the latest in a series of failings in the 35-year-old building, which was never meant to be used as living quarters for four people for 24 hours, seven days a week, according to Midgley.
“Years ago we had the issue of mold and had to tear up the walls. Six months ago we had a roof leak with water pouring into the building. We’ve been forced to store our equipment outside, causing lots of wear and tear. The list goes on,” said Midgley. “It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse.”
Midgley said he’s applying for a $5 million federal grant that could cover the $4.7 million cost of constructing the new fire station that was previously voted down at Town Meeting.
“If that (grant) doesn’t get awarded, I’ll have to go before the taxpayers (again),” he said. “The cost of a new station is only going to go up. We’ve cut the price down from $7.2 million to $4.7. We can’t cut any more than that without making it non-functional.”
If and when a new station is built, the department’s second-most urgent need is a third engine, Midgley said. Pelham has two.
“If one engine malfunctions at any time it’ll mean we cannot supply any mutual aid, and we are critically dependent on that in this area,” said Midgley. “Salem, Windham and Hudson are coming to our aid. It’s a hardship to lose an engine and tell them, ‘We can’t supply you with any service, but I’ll be glad to call you when I need it.’ It’s a two-way street.”
Joining Midgley for his swearing-in were about 100 residents, officials, fellow firefighters, and family that included wife Jenny, daughter Laura, and son JT, a Dracut High School grad who is headed to the New Hampshire Firefighters Academy.
Selectman William McDevitt said he was “delighted to see one of our own move up to the chief’s position from within” the department. “Chief Midgley has got a quiet confidence about him. He answers questions from a tremendous knowledge base. If he doesn’t know the answer, he says so. But if your house was on fire, or if you were in an accident — he’d know the answers,” said McDevitt.
Midgley joined the department in 2001. He was named acting chief in January after previous Chief Michael Walker left for Yarmouth. Walker made $76,000 per year as the pelham fire chief, according to the 2007 town report.
Midgley was a member of the same Chelmsford High graduating class as Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark.
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