Hingham Fire Chief Announces Retirement

After over four decades of service, Hingham Fire Chief Mark Duff has announced his retirement.

Hingham Selectmen Chair Paul Healey said at Thursday’s selectmen meeting that the town received Duff’s retirement letter earlier this week.

“I would like to recognize the tremendous job you did at all ranks. It has been a pleasure to work with you, to have you as our fire chief, and to have you as a friend,” Healey said.

Duff’s retirement will take effect June 30, ending a 42-year run as a member of the Hingham Fire Department.

“What makes Hingham so wonderful is the incredible cooperation between department heads, committees, and the selectmen. What happened with the fire department and the community is a team effort and that’s what’s so wonderful about it,” Duff said at Thursday’s meeting.

Taking the reigns on a temporary basis will be Robert Olsson. Currently the deputy fire chief, Olsson has 39 years of experience as a firefighter.

In other changes in public safety personnel, Lt. David Jones was named the deputy police chief of the Hingham Police Department, filling the vacancy left by new Police Chief Glenn Olsson.

Police Chief Olsson also agreed to a new contract Thursday night. The three-year deal runs through May 1, 2018. According to Town Administrator Ted Alexiades, the contract is identical to that of the previous chief.