Lizzie Borden and the Fire Chief
No longer acting, Borden named Haverhill fire chief
By Erin Ailworth
Globe Staff / May 22, 2008
As a kid Richard B. Borden always knew when his dad, once a Haverhill firefighter, worked a tough blaze – the kind that meant flames had consumed some family’s photos and other cherished belongings, possibly their lives.It could have been the look on the elder Borden’s face. Or maybe some aura of leftover adrenaline and soot.
“He’d come home from a fire – you could tell,” Borden said. “It was my normal childhood.”
And, as his father worked through the ranks, Borden says he was inspired to become a part of the family of firefighters whose teamwork and camaraderie helped keep the city safe from harm.
Today, Borden leads that team as the Haverhill fire chief – just as his father did from 1986 to 1999.
Mayor James J. Fiorentini recently made the title official when he promoted Borden from acting fire chief, a position the longtime firefighter has held for almost three years.
The decision came amid pressure from the local firefighters union and city officials, who worried that the department hadn’t had a permanent chief since the last one took an early retirement more than four years ago.
Fiorentini had hesitated to name a new leader, saying he wanted to weigh his options before appointing someone to a job with civil service protection – meaning that the appointee could only be removed from the position in cases of misconduct.
Haverhill firefighters argued that with only an acting chief, they felt like their department had no real direction. So Fiorentini put together a selection committee and late last month that committee unanimously recommended Borden be made chief.
“I think he’ll be good. I think he has been good over the past 2 1/2 years,” Fiorentini said after Borden’s swearing-in ceremony. “And if it lends some stability to the department, I’m happy to do it.”
Tyler Kimball, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1011, lauded Borden’s advancement.
“He doesn’t have to worry about landing on his butt,” Kimball said. “Now he can plan for the future.”
Borden said his main goal is to improve firefighter safety and communication while on a fire scene. He has put together a “dream list” of new equipment that he thinks will make the jobs of people in his department easier. After all, he said, it’s not easy lugging a loaded fire hose into position or navigating through a burning building.
“That’s where training and preparation and a good command staff and the commitment to safety allow you to do the job in the safest manner you can,” Borden said. “And it’s nice to know that you’ve got someone with you that’s looking out for you, looking out for himself, and that the people outside are working to support your efforts.”
Borden’s wish list includes a geographic information system that could help firefighters quickly locate water mains and backup hydrants in a pinch or provide hazardous materials information for a particular area.
“The goal here is to give the guys on the trucks as much information as we can possibly give them on scene,” Borden said.
Borden has been a Haverhill firefighter since 1983. Today, his department employs about 108 – though not all are firefighters – and serves about 61,000 people within 36 square miles.
“I got here and I just loved the job,” said Borden, who counts among his ancestors the infamous Lizzie Borden – a Fall River woman accused and then acquitted of murdering her parents with an ax in 1892.
He jokes about the connection: “It’s a great conversation piece.”
In his spare time, the chief likes to white-water kayak and has swirled through the Grand Canyon in a boat just over 6 feet long.
“Believe it or not, I find doing Class 4 and 5 water relaxing,” Borden said. “And, you know, there is a thrill and an enjoyment to surfing in a hole or on a big wave, and it’s one of those times where there’s nothing else to think about. It’s just you and the water and what you’re doing.”
