NORTHFIELD — Amanda Dunnell knew ever since she was a teenager that she wanted to be a firefighter. But unlike many young boys and girls contemplating their career paths, Dunnell followed through with her dream just like her father, Northfield Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III and her grandfather, Floyd “Juni” Dunnell Jr.
In Northfield, fighting fires is a family affair. Of the current staff of 31, Amanda Dunnell and her father estimate, at least four fathers have brought their children into the department.
“There’s a lot of times where you see kids follow in their fathers’ footsteps,” Amanda Dunnell, 30, said.
Yet, the Dunnells are unique. Not only are they the only father-daughter team in the department, but Amanda Dunnell was the department’s first female firefighter.
“I knew, probably at the age of 15 or 16, that her intentions were to get on the Fire Department,” Skip Dunnell, 62, said. “I knew she was going to have an uphill battle because it was an all male department at the time.”
Amanda Dunnell said that her father was always supportive, though also firm.
“I just made sure she knew it was not going to be given to her. It would have to be earned,” Skip Dunnell said. “She on her own has earned (the department’s) respect and confidence … And she’s excelled.”
Just last month, the Northfield Selectboard approved Amanda Dunnell as the fire department’s emergency management administrative assistant.
“(The Dunnells) have been very dedicated in serving the town,” Northfield Town Administrator Brian Noble said. “There isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for the town.”
In addition to working in the field, Amanda Dunnell will be filing paperwork with the state such as emergency response plans and resource plans, taking a load off of her father’s shoulders.
“Because we’re doing everything on a part-time basis, it’s helpful for her to do the administrative side,” Skip Dunnell said. “The demand just gets greater and greater.”
Both Skip and Amanda Dunnell operate full-time jobs, Skip as the heating service manager for A.R. Sandri Inc. in Greenfield and Amanda as a senior loss control consultant with Hanover Insurance Group.
Because of their schedules, father and daughter only get to work together a couple of times a week responding to calls and attending meetings, training sessions and “work bees,” where equipment maintenance and cleaning are completed. Still, the two agree that the job is demanding, but rewarding.
“There’s times when people are in trouble and you can give back and make a difference,” Skip Dunnell said. “Your actions are what lead to a safe and good conclusion.”
For Amanda, “being able to help others during their time of need” is what inspired her to be a firefighter herself. She joined the junior firefighter program at 13 after years of watching her father, who himself remembers going on calls with his own father at the age of 7.
“If I was with him, and the call came in, I rode shotgun,” Skip Dunnell said.
Skip Dunnell remembers a house fire when he was 13. Only his father and two other firefighters were able to respond, and, being low on staff, Skip Dunnell ran the hose. The house was saved.
“That was my first experience actually participating in firefighting,” he said.
Skip Dunnell officially joined the department as soon as he graduated high school in 1971, quickly rising through the ranks to become lieutenant in 1974 and chief starting in 1976.
“He’s most likely one of the longest serving chiefs in the state,” said Bill Dolan, secretary/treasurer of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts. “Nobody serves that long anymore.”
Still, even with 45 years of experience, Skip Dunnell says the fire service is constantly evolving and so “tomorrow could be something different.”
As for Amanda Dunnell, she remembers going with her mother, Chris Dunnell, to assist the fire department in any way they could, often by bringing food and coffee.
Chris Dunnell also used to staff the “red phone network,” calling the individual firefighters at their homes to rally them when fires occurred. Today, Chris, Skip and Amanda are also all on the Northfield rescue dive team together.
What, then, is next for the Dunnell family and their generations-long tradition?
“The dream is to become chief one day, and follow in my father’s footsteps,” Amanda Dunnell said. If the day comes, she will make history as Northfield’s first female fire chief.