Interim Chief Sworn-in as Mayor Decides This Month on Next Braintree Fire Boss

Deputy Chief Robert Dyer was sworn-in as interim chief of the Braintree Fire Department last Friday, taking the reigns while Mayor Joseph Sullivan decides on a replacement for Kevin Murphy.

Dyer joined the department in 1976. His oldest son is a Stoughton firefighter and his youngest is training to be one as well.

"It's the greatest job in the world," Dyer said.

Braintree officials have interviewed five internal candidates for the top post, following a written test last month. Sullivan said he will meet with some of the candidates this week and make a final decision by the end of this month. The chief will be sworn-in publicly.

The mayor announced Murphy's upcoming retirement in November. He retired on Jan. 13 after three decades of service in the department, the last three as chief.

Sullivan said the fire chief search process is different than the police chief search because Paul Frazier had served for 19 years as chief prior to retiring and there were a number of public safety issues to discuss publicly.

But in some ways the two processes have been consistent, Sullivan said. Aside from there only being internal candidates for fire chief – the mayor did not open the search to outside hires – the written exams and interviews were similar, Sullivan said.

During the search for police chief, which ended with Deputy Chief Russell Jenkins' selection, the public was provided the names and resumes of the three finalists, and all three were questioned at an open meeting at Town Hall prior to Sullivan's decision.