Philip “Flip” Phalon moved to Mason 26 years ago, and the former resident he bought the house from passed the torch.
“When I moved to town, there was a firefighter that lived in the house I lived in now. He said, ‘Tag. You’re it. Go down and meet the guys,’” Phalon said.
Phalon, who was appointed as the Mason Fire Department’s new chief in January, said he had never volunteered for a town fire or emergency service before, but thought it would be a good way to get to know his new town, so he did just that – went down to the fire department to meet the volunteers, and get information on how to sign up.
Twenty-six years of serving as a firefighter and EMT later, Phalon is leading the department – but he said he hopes he’s only a bridge to the next generation of leadership.
“It was really that it was a great group of people,” Phalon said, of why he stuck with the department. “There is excitement, a bit of adrenaline, that keeps you going, absolutely, but the great people and the ability to do something for this town that I like and give back and make it better is why I do it.”
During Town Meeting on Saturday, voters approved a budget that includes a paid full-time position on the Fire Department. But not for Phalon – for an assistant chief, which Phalon said he hopes to hire and then groom to take over the department after this year, when Phalon plans to retire.
On Saturday, Phalon presented outgoing Fire Chief Fred Greenwood with his own retirement gift, a clock, and thanked him for his service. Phalon said he himself has a long history in the service, and is planning – at least tentatively – to step down next year.
“I reserve the right to change my mind,” he quipped.
But first, he said, he wants to establish a new leader for the department. And increasing recruiting difficulty made him look to creating a full-time position to try to attract a candidate.
“When I started many years ago, the department was bigger, and there were more people living and working in town that could respond to calls,” Phalon said. “As the years go on, and especially in the last 10 years, there’s been a rapid decline in the people available during the days. Daytime coverage is horrible. It’s the nature of the beast right now.”
It’s not unusual, Phalon said, for only a few people to be able to respond to calls during work hours. That convinced him, he said, that there needed to be at least one paid position in the department, and a person on call who could respond, and at a minimum, assess scenes and call for mutual aid.
“Minutes count,” Phalon said. “An additional person who can attend the majority of calls is the key to the whole thing working.”
And in fact, even with the lure of pay and benefits, Phalon said there is no one on the department willing to step into the assistant chief position full-time, and he anticipates having to recruit from outside the department. Phalon said its his intention to dissolve the full-time assistant position and request a full-time chief position when he steps away, and his successor takes up the baton.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.