After 50 years at helm, Northfield fire chief calls it a career

NORTHFIELD — Fifty years is a long time to wear any hat, but among family, friends and fellow firefighters on Saturday, Northfield Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III said he has no qualms about hanging it up.

Dunnell, 73, who has been with the department for 55 years, including 50 as chief, retired over the weekend. At a party in his honor, held at The Beech House at Northfield Golf Club, he said he believes the Fire Department is in good hands.

“It has been a privilege and an honor to help protect the citizens of the town of Northfield as their fire chief for over 50 years,” Dunnell said, reading his retirement letter to the crowd. “I am confident the Northfield Fire Department will continue the legacy of protecting Northfield, as well as many surrounding communities. I want to thank every member of the Fire Department, past and present, who has served under my direction.”

Replacing Dunnell will be Michael Quinn, whom the Selectboard voted to appoint as interim chief earlier this month. Quinn has been with the department for 33 years.

“I have no qualms hanging up the white hat,” Dunnell said, “because I know Northfield and the surrounding area and tri-state is in good hands.”

Dunnell officially joined the department in 1971; however, he said he had been involved for many years prior, as his father, Floyd “Juni” Dunnell Jr., had been fire chief. Skip Dunnell said he first assisted in a response when he was about 13 years old.

“My firefighting career actually started when I was only 13 or 14 years old, and it was at a fire in a house on Ashuelot Road in Winchester just over the [state] line. … The chimney fire had extended into the house, and the Northfield Fire Department got there first,” Skip Dunnell said. “There were only two to three firemen on the scene to extend a hose line into the house. My dad grabbed me and told me to help pump the hose line, but stay outside.

“The fire was quickly put out, saving these folks’ home,” he continued. “I was thanked by everyone for helping to extinguish the fire and to save the house. I witnessed the impact on the family and was proud to be able to help it. Definitely strengthened my resolve to become a firefighter.”

During his time with the department, Skip Dunnell was one of the founding members of the county dispatch system, the precursor to the Shelburne Control Dispatch Center; helped found the Northfield Dive/Rescue Team; and was a founding member of the Franklin County Firefighters Association, serving in several leadership roles over the years. He also served as the Northfield forest fire warden, Northfield’s emergency management director and on the board of directors for the Tri-State Fire Mutual Aid Association.

In 1975, at the age of 22, Dunnell was named lieutenant of the Northfield Fire Department, and in 1976, he became the chief, the youngest the department has ever seen.

Quinn said Dunnell has earned many accolades over the years, but what he is best known for is how he treats his firefighters.

“We’re a family. He treats us like family,” Quinn said.

Dunnell described himself as being known around the county for being hard on his firefighters about protecting personal property. Other departments may break glass to get access to a space, he said, but he believed their job was to save lives and save as much property as possible. If they could remove the window to get inside rather than breaking it, they should do so and strive to prevent damage.

He said he is very proud of every structure and life he and his team helped save, though he continues to mourn for those they were unable to save.

“As in any career in public safety, there are highs and lows,” Dunnell said. “It’s extremely satisfying when you defeat the fire dragon. It is also very emotional when it strikes back and destroys and devours everything.”

He added he is also proud of the Junior Firefighter Program, which began under his tenure and helped train more than 38 firefighters, including his daughter Amanda.

Erving Fire Chief Philip Wonkka and Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan said Dunnell was a huge resource to other departments and mentored many up-and-coming chiefs.

“Skip has been a longstanding chief and he’s given us great guidance as the younger chiefs come up,” Wonkka said. “He mentors us and points us in the right direction and helps us out on a lot of different stuff.”

“One of my first memories at a fire was Chief Dunnell with a strong presence and direction. And whenever we had a major event in town, I usually would be giving Skip a call to say, ‘Hey, what you doing? You want to come help?'” Strahan said. “Skip has been a great friend, role model and somebody that I personally have looked up to. … You will be missed more than you know.”

State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, presented Dunnell with citations from the state Senate and House of Representatives, and called his years of service “a jaw-dropping gift to all of us.”

“Having worked with Skip a lot over the past year, I just want to say how much I appreciate his sense of duty and service and community,” Selectboard Chair Barbara “Bee” Jacque added.

In retirement, Dunnell said he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family members, who have supported him throughout his long career. Jacque also joked that she would try to get him to stay involved in town through service on government boards.

“My wife, better known as 565 Remote One, would announce the fire calls, make the phone calls, and assist us in giving directions and any other help that we needed as we were responding to or on the scene,” Dunnell said. “She manned the radio, which was a tremendous help. She helped feed the troops when we were at incidents and she kept the home fires burning any time that I was away.”

Before conceding his microphone to a standing ovation, Dunnell polled the firefighters in attendance, asking how many he had barked at over the years. He smiled at the room full of raised hands.

“My job was well done,” Dunnell said with a laugh.