FITCHBURG — Fire Chief Kevin Roy, after nearly 45 years of service to the city, officially retired from his duties this week and Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Marrama is stepping in to fill the position, Mayor Stephen DiNatale said Thursday.
While the job of replacing the Fitchburg icon won’t be easy, Marrama stepped into the role of acting chief on Wednesday after being appointed by the mayor.
His appointment comes after a resolution to appoint Deputy Chief Thomas Dateo Jr. to the position was rejected by the City Council in a 10-1 vote on June 16.
At the time, city councilors expressed concerns that Dateo was not the best candidate for the job.
City Council President Micheal Kushmerek argued instead that Marrama was the right fit after he scored higher in civil service evaluations and was recommended by the fire chief search committee.
“Despite the distinguished service that Deputy Dateo has given this city, I cannot move forward with confirming this appointment,” Kushmerek said last month.
DiNatale said he was disappointed in the council’s decision and felt that his original appointment was the proper one.
Dateo, he said, was the senior deputy chief, had significantly more experience, and is qualified for the job.
“I had no choice,” said DiNatale, referring to the new appointment. “This was the wish of the council.”
When asked if he thought Marrama could perform the duties of fire chief, DiNatale said: “He’ll be fine.”
The city began its search for a new fire chief by hiring a consulting firm to hold an assessment center, a process where retired fire chiefs and industry professionals evaluate candidates to measure their ability to lead and manage the department.
The scores from the assessment are weighted differently and, prior to its administration, the city assigned an 80% weight to the exam portion of the process and a 20% weight to education and experience.
Dateo and Marrama were the top scorers in the exam portion, with final weighted scores of 80 and 91, respectively. It should be noted that Dateo received a boost to his score for over 41 years of service to the department.
The top three scorers on the civil service exam are typically considered before one is selected by the appointing authority. In this case, the mayor was the appointing authority and two candidates were considered.
The appointing authority can bypass the top-scoring candidate but provides justification for doing so.
The search committee, in a 5-1 vote, recommended Marrama for the position, who has over 11 years of experience in the department.
An oral and written report was then provided to DiNatale on May 26, and Dateo was subsequently nominated for the job.
The appointment of Marrama as the fire chief will go before the council next week for confirmation, DiNatale said.
Roy will stay on in a supervisory role to assist the transition of the functions and duties of chief until July 26.
“I want to personally thank Fitchburg Fire Chief Kevin Roy for his exemplary service and dedication to our city,” DiNatale said. “He has answered the call to serve his community and the men and women of his department well. On behalf of the City of Fitchburg, we wish him and his family the very best of wishes on this exciting next step.”
Roy was required by law to retire at age 65 on Jan. 30, but had a home-rule petition approved by the state Legislature to extend his tenure as chief to June 30.
He’s been a member of the Fitchburg Fire Department for more than 44 years, including 39 as a full-time, permanent fire officer.
