ROCKINGHAM-It became official on Dec. 29: Shaun McGinnis was named the permanent chief of the new, consolidated Rockingham Fire and Rescue Department (RFRD).
The appointment of McGinnis, who had been serving in an interim capacity, was one of the last acts of outgoing Municipal Manager Scott Pickup, who has taken a similar position in Springfield.
An interim municipal manager, Alex Torpey, was also named at the meeting.
Pickup’s appointment of McGinnis was ratified by a resolution from the Rockingham Selectboard, the Saxtons River Village Trustees, and the Bellows Falls Village Trustees during that night’s tri-board meeting.
McGinnis, 54, has served as the chief of the Bellows Falls Village Fire Department since 2017. He had been a member of all town fire departments at various times, having joined the Saxtons River Volunteer Fire Department when he was 20.
“I’m very happy to have been appointed chief,” McGinnis said Sunday afternoon, having just returned from a mutual aid call in Chester. “I enjoy doing this job, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”
Several town officials and representatives of nearby fire departments were involved in the selection process.
“In my eyes, Chief McGinnis was the best candidate,” said Village President Paul Obuchowski, who served on the selection team, “and I’m very glad that he has accepted the job. I have seen the great job he has done as interim chief, and I’m very confident that he will continue to do a great job.”
Obuchowski explained that the town “had a very good and open process for the hiring of the new chief.” The process included the chiefs of Walpole, New Hampshire, and Springfield, the municipal manager, the chair of the Selectboard, and the Bellows Falls village president.
“We had a number of applications,” Obuchowski said, “13, I believe, and set interviews for three people. Chief McGinnis was the No. 1 pick of all of us.”
Selectboard Chair Peter Golec was part of the selection committee. He noted that “the process to get to a transition team” and to form a budget, has been a long one, but “a few minor pitfalls” have been overcome.
For almost a full year, the committee had to agree on procedures, forms, and other aspects of combining the three departments.
Golec said the consolidation moved under the control of “the transition team, consisting of the fire committee and board members. That process took about three to six months.”
The three finalists were set to be interviewed, but “on the day of interviews with the Springfield and Walpole fire chiefs, two of the finalists removed themselves from contention, leaving McGinnis.”
Golec said that the committee “then went back to the board to see if they wanted to re-advertise, and they declined.
Pickup said that he felt McGinnis was the best choice.
“Shaun has been a key resource in providing accurate data, support, and management expertise to a very difficult transition,” Pickup said. “It was a consensus that he has shown the ability to withstand criticism and continue to move forward in a positive manner.”
Social media responses to McGinnis’s appointment have been overwhelmingly positive.
A tough but smooth transition
Handling criticism well and still moving forward positively will be important qualities for the new chief. The merger of the town’s three separate fire departments, including the first responder emergency services (EMS), came out of a years-long process that at times proved contentious.
In 2023, AP Triton, a Wyoming firm that also consulted with Brattleboro over models for that town’s EMS needs, was hired to carry out a town-wide Fire Department Feasibility Study.
The study results recommended, among three options, merging the three departments into one cohesive unit under one fire chief. They were presented to the town in 2024. Merging the departments had been discussed for decades but never acted on.
Several public meetings discussed the study and its recommendations. Some of the fire departments included multiple generations of founding member families, and the idea of merging into one department was an emotional issue.
The idea of a merger was put to a vote at the March 5, 2025, Annual Town Meeting. With a large turnout, voters approved the merger by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
Though some critics voiced fears the merger would trigger a mass exodus of disgruntled volunteer firefighters, McGinnis said that hasn’t really happened.
“Things are going really well,” he said. “The membership is turning out when it needs to.”
Approximately 40 people have joined the new department, “and they’re all living,” McGinnis added with a laugh, a nod to claims on social media by disgruntled former firefighters that the RFRD was including deceased members in its numbers.
Pickup agreed, stating, “I have high hopes that the Fire Department consolidation will serve all communities well with a staff that is professional, well equipped, and eager to provide public service.”
McGinnis said that he would “love to have more” volunteers, and that two firefighters from the former Rockingham department had joined.
“I’ve gone out of my way to make them feel welcome here,” he said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to grow up and be an adult about it and advocate for yourself. We did make an effort to welcome everybody. If you can go online and trash us, you can just as easily find us here” and work out any issues.
McGinnis said that two-thirds of the three departments “decided to take a chance on this and help to make it work. For those that want to see it work, it’s going to work.”
He said he was very pleased when a former member of the Saxtons River department, who had not been in favor of the changes, decided to join.
“He said he was happy with the change and said he thought it was going well,” McGinnis said. “He said he was trying to recruit more members.”
McGinnis said the new department had 145 calls in its first two months, with many individual volunteers responding to 50% to 60% of the calls.
“Not everyone is as active or has the same amount of time to participate as the next person,” he said. “It’s a group effort. We actually have a good average response.”
He noted that the firefighters receive a stipend for responding which averages around $15 an hour.
McGinnis said of the members who have joined the new RFRD that “all of us here are looking forward. If you want to be here and be positive, we want you. We have one department [with] one set of standardized operating guidelines, and any one of three stations are able to respond.”
He said the merger has allowed combining equipment and bringing more equipment up to compliance standards.
“All three stations are open,” McGinnis said. “We haven’t eliminated any equipment. We’re going to do this the right way and not in a hurry. The budget looks right on target.”
He said that the villages had given over their fire and rescue budgets to the town, and “after this year, we’ll have a nice and tidy single budget.”
He added that the department is working with the Insurance Services Office over the coming months to review the department and work on improving insurance class ratings for the community. He said he hopes to have a report on those efforts to present to the town at Annual Town Meeting in March.
New interim Municipal Manager named
Torpey will serve as the interim municipal manager while the town searches for a permanent replacement for Pickup.
Pickup described Torpey as “a skilled manager who will keep the positive momentum of all the town and village initiatives moving forward,” adding that he will be a “great asset” to the Selectboard and two Boards of Village Trustees through the process.
On his website, Torpey, who served as town manager of Hanover, New Hampshire, from 2022 to 2024, describes himself as “Municipal Implementer, professor, consultant, volunteer EMT, retired mayor; person” and his “vibe” as “good governance, outdoors, photos, writing, music, travel, and all things local.”
Obuchowski also said that he felt “Alex will work out very well for us.”
“He has good experience doing this and will help us out,” he said.
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.