LONGMEADOW — The Longmeadow Fire Department has a new leader with a familiar face. Chief John Rigney took command of the department on Nov. 22 when then-Chief John Dearborn retired.
Rigney has been with the Longmeadow Fire Department for 26 years and has been involved with daily operations since becoming a captain in 2016. Still, he acknowledged that moving into the top role has been an adjustment.
It is not uncommon for the Longmeadow Fire Department to promote from within. Andrew Markt, who has been with the department since 2011, replaced Rigney as deputy chief. The department has an established succession plan and encourages promotions from within its ranks. He said it is more “seamless” to promote someone from within, rather than bringing in a new person who would have to learn the department. He added, “I think collectively, we have one of the most talented, hard-working departments.”
Originally from Wilbraham, Rigney attended Northfield Mount Hermon, a boarding and day school in Franklin County, before going on to St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, with dreams of being a professional hockey player. “I realized I wasn’t going to be a pro hockey player pretty soon,” he said with a chuckle. Instead, he joined St. Michael’s Fire & Rescue, as a way to “give back,” he said. St. Michael’s Fire & Rescue is a student-run firefighting and emergency medical services organization that operates in the areas around St. Michael’s College.
After four years learning the ropes there, he was hired by the Longmeadow Fire Department in June 1998.
Over the past three decades, Rigney said firefighting has changed “tremendously,” especially in terms of how technology is used in the profession. He said former Fire Chiefs Dearborn, who retired in November, and Eric Madison kept the department on top of technological advancements in firefighting. He said the chiefs also kept the department well-maintained.
“We didn’t have a ladder truck from the mid to late 90s until 2015,” Rigney said. “The chiefs worked to get that back.” He added that all the vehicles have been replaced in the past 15 years, with a new ambulance and engine expected to be delivered in the year ahead. “We’ve added staff, we’ve added the fire station — we used to be in the same building as the Police Department. There’s been a lot of changes since I started here, and I hope to be part of changes [that keep the Fire Department] moving forward.”
To start, Rigney said he plans to “sit down and break the department down piece by piece and see where it can be improved. [All fire chiefs] would like some more staffing,” he said, referring to the 26 part- and full-time firefighters, fire prevention officer, deputy chief and administrative assistant under him. However, he acknowledged that the tax base in Longmeadow has not increased much since he joined the department, making more staff unlikely.
In the short-term, however, Rigney said he plans to stay the course. “Chief Dearborn left the department in good shape,” he said. “I’m not going to rush to make any changes.
Considering the firefighters under his command, Rigney said, “This business is incredibly dangerous, it always has been. We lean on our training and our expertise to us through that.” He praised Longmeadow’s firefighters are always learning and improving themselves. We have very well-trained, very dedicated individuals that work in our department. That puts our firefighters in a position to succeed.”
Rigney said, “I’ve spent my entire working career in Longmeadow. We truly have the best department in the area. The members, through their actions, have put me here. They’ve entrusted me. I put my heart and soul into my career and … this department.”
He said that he only expected to because a shift captain, but he was “challenged” by the department’s leadership to keep going. “Now that it’s happened, I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to lead this department.”
