Lebanon Fire and EMS Assistant Chief Dan Mathews
Just who is your new Lebanon Fire and EMS Assistant Chief??
Well, His name is Dan Mathews and he's friendly, and humble and completely capable.
Assistant Chief Dan Mathews is now your second in command at the Lebanon Fire EMS Station and he's glad to have the opportunity to serve in our community and work toward promoting Firefighter and EMT Health, Safety, Education and Training.
I had the chance to meet Assistant Chief Mathews at Station 1 at the corner of Depot Road and Upper Cross Road on a cool and sunny Sunday afternoon.
Mathews, just in from a rescue call requesting additional manpower on the scene, seemed laid back, friendly and we quickly established a few common interests in things like beekeeping, the outdoors and community service.
Mathews, who comes to Lebanon Fire and EMS while still maintaining a 29 year full time career as a Captain with the Natick Massachusetts Fire and EMS (16 of those years as an officer), lives just over the Lebanon border in East Rochester, however for those of you who have heard the stories regarding him being Chief Meehan's neighbor or long time friend, those are rumors and not the truth. While the two do share the same zip code, Meehan lives on the Milton side of town and Mathews lives on the Berwick side of town. The two have traveled in very similar circles, as Mathews long time girlfriend is a full time firefighter for Rochester, however Mathews says that he and Meehan have never known one another on a personal level, and their interactions have usually been limited to retirement parties and Rochester Fire Department functions.
Knowing that Chief Meehan was a new Chief here in town, and having watched the news and social media reports on Lebanon Fire and Lebanon Rescue since arriving in East Rochester, Mathews approached Meehan one day and offered his help during the transition of merging of the two departments. "I never really wanted to join the department," states Mathews, "I was just seeing so much bad press and wanted to offer my assistance."
As a Maine town that has dug its heels in with regards to "people from away" and change, Mathews felt that his 29 years of training and experience could be of help to the new Chief as he struggled to meet many years of neglected equipment maintenance issues, questionable credits in training operations, and a list of daunting OSHA violations that were piled on the Chief's desk demanding immediate attention.
Mathews says that about a month ago, Chief Meehan gave him a call and advised him of the opening of the Assistant Chief's position in Lebanon and encouraged him to apply. After giving the option some thought and realizing that he had the opportunity to really help a newly organizing department gain some education and operations techniques, Mathews says that he came and applied for the position, and after an interview process, background check and physical exam he was hired.
Within an hour after his receiving the keys, radio and equipment at Lebanon, Mathews was on his way home when a call came in for a structure fire on River Road, so he turned down the road and was the first on scene.
Since we were on the subject of the fire on River Road, I took that opportunity to ask the Assistant Chief what he thought while watching his new department in action? Mathews says they were all competent and hard working and the partnership with local Mutual Aid responders was easy and well managed. In speaking of that day, Mathews relates that Rochester, a full time Fire Department, was first on the scene, but Lebanon responders weren't far behind with Milton's engines coming in from the opposite direction. "They got the fire knocked down quickly, working together." he said, "That's the great part about Automatic Mutual Aid"
I questioned him on the claims that our department should have had both ambulances on scene immediately and he said that Ambulance 2 was on the scene immediately and staged for rehab. (In Fire and EMS terms, "rehab" is when the ambulance stands by in the event that a firefighter is in need of hydration, oxygen, or is hurt by falling debris or is burned) "It's very important that they're there and remain there," he stated, adding that of course in the event of an immediate injury, the first ambulance on the scene attends to the patient and transports with subsequent ambulances taking up the rehab responsibility.
In the River Road event, the resident was tended to immediately and professionally, according to Mathews, but declined the need for further assistance. However, as time passed, the resident reconsidered treatment, and Frisbie Memorial Hospital's EMS unit was requested to the scene for transport.
When questioned with regard to the Blaidell Corner Station 2 apparatus not being utilized prior to Mutual Aid trucks being called in, Mathews just smiled and stated that it would be "kind of unnecessary to have a Forestry vehicle at a structure fire," adding once again that he thought the Mutual Aid response that evening was "awesome".
So what exactly does an Assistant Chief do for a department? Mathews says that his job is geared toward the operations issues of the department with main focus being the training of the Firefighters and EMTs who work for Lebanon, saying that he and the Chief have been focusing on a weekly training schedule. While most of his credentials are at Mass State, and National level, there are a few EMS licenses that he still must obtain through the State of Maine EMS, and he has been working to get any needed paperwork and testing completed. While he will not be covering shifts until his EMS credentials are all recognized by the state, he is on call for Fire Duty and as added manpower for EMS calls, but his confidence in his new Department shows in his statement, "Lebanon has some well qualified people," he stated, "they are able to handle every call and they really know what they're doing." Mathews adds that as the Assistant Chief he is second in command on any active scene and assumes command if the Chief is unavailable at the time. Is Mathews qualified to assume this command? You bet!!
Mathews is a 2005 graduate of The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute Chief Fire Officer Management Program. Although getting more information regarding his education was difficult, as he said that he didn't want to sound boastful, during our discussion, more and more was revealed. Mathews is a Certified Hazmat Technician, and has been a part of the Massachusetts State Hazmat Response Team for 22 years. He is not only a Mass State Certified EMT-I, but a National Registry Certified EMT-I, and is currently enrolled in a transition course at Mass Bay Community College to obtain his EMT Advanced Certificate. He's a National Level Certified Health and Safety Officer and a National Level Fire Fighter Instructor I, National Fire Inspector II, and National Level Fire Officer II, through the Massachusetts Fire Academy.
If you think that those credentials should give Mathews something to boast about, this writer would certainly agree, however Mathews comes by it all honestly, coming from a family heavy with Civil Service background. His Dad, served on the Natick, Mass Fire Department and Grandfather and Great Grandfather were both Patrolmen on the Natick, Massachusetts Police Department , with his Great Grandfather killed in service. Mathews also boasts 2 Uncles who served as Massachusetts State Police Officers, with one losing his life in the line of duty.
Asked how he felt about seeing his photo and Massachusetts salary posted publicly during his first month with the Department, Mathews seemed to take it all in stride, "I guess it's all public knowledge anyway," he said, adding that he was a bit disappointed to see his photo, lifted without permission from his private facebook page, on the a Lebanon social media page.
Regarding the most positive things he's seen in his first month as Lebanon Assistant Chief? Mathews gives credit to his responders once again, his Chief, and the work they've done to bring down response times, and make a closer relationship with the Mutual Aid community. "The reliance on EMS Mutual Aid is way down," said Mathews, "and that's good."
Welcome to Lebanon, Assistant Chief Dan Mathews!!
We're happy and proud you've chosen to serve in Lebanon and are looking forward to the level of education and experience you bring to our Fire and EMS station table!!
Assistant Chief Mathews encourages residents to ask questions or simply say hello by e mailing him at danmathews@lebanonfireems.org
