Former Greenville Fire Chief Charles Buttrick has passed the torch to his son and deputy chief, Ben Buttrick, who was sworn in as the new chief by selectmen June 8.
Charles said he won’t be leaving the department – in fact, he and his son are flipping roles, with Ben taking on the fire chief position and Charles taking up his role as deputy chief – but said it’s time for the younger generation to take up the leadership role.
“We need to have some younger blood, some newer thoughts to modernize the department,” Charles said. “I have this philosophy where I always try to lead by example. But these days, it just takes longer to get my foot across my knee to get my boots on. These younger people, they just have the physical ability to get to the scene quicker.”
Charles informed the town he wanted to step down from the chief’s position about two years ago, and put forward nominations for both Ben Buttrick and Greg Eastman, who were ranked members of the department, as possible replacements. Eastman was initially selected for the job, but stepped down after a few months, and Charles resumed the role in the interim before Ben was confirmed as his permanent replacement.
Firefighting has been a passion for Ben Buttrick since he was young. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he became a Fire Explorer at the age of 14, in 1994. He joined the department as a full member in the early 2000s, and has worked his way through the ranks since.
“I definitely look forward to continuing to work with members of the fire department, the town officials, with other town agencies and our mutual aid partners, and I look forward to meeting with the community and keeping them as safe as possible,” Ben said.
Ben said from the beginning, the camaraderie of the department has caused him to stay for so long.
“We’re a tight-knit group of individuals, and we all help each other out,” Ben said. “If there’s something that needs to be picked up, we get on it, pick it up and organize it. We all work together, and it’s an awesome feeling to have a group of people willing to do whatever to help you, and vice versa.”
Charles said the toughest parts of the transition are likely to be the issues facing all small, volunteer departments these days – lack of manpower and growing administrative responsibilities that are tough to keep up with, with only a volunteer staff. But when it comes to responding to calls, Charles said Ben’s long experience in the department and the leadership positions he has already held make him a strong candidate.
Ben said those are his main concerns, as well, along with the updating the department’s equipment and facing an aging infrastructure.
“The biggest challenge is just being there for the community when they call,” Ben said. “It’s not just Greenville; every town around us is struggling for volunteers. We’re relying on our mutual aid towns. I don’t have a direct answer for how to fix that. Basically, we need more people to get involved. All we can do is ask, and put it out there that we’re a great group of people who are willing to help out when the call comes.”
Ben said it will be his goal as chief to move the department forward, “one step at a time.” He said he wants to update the department equipment, but doesn’t anticipate big shakeups.
Charles said he’s confident in Ben’s experience carrying through to being in command during responses to fires or crashes.
“As far as incidents, I have no problem with him running an incident,” Charles said. “He’s going to handle that hands-down. He can read a fire. He’s what I call ‘fire smart,’ and has a good handle on what needs to be done. I feel confident he can do it. He’s probably gone through a more-rigorous training, because he had to listen to me complain when things don’t go quite right, so he knows to look for those issues.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.