Freedman Named Medford's Next Fire Chief; Giliberti Retiring

MEDFORD, MA — Longtime Medford fire chief Frank Giliberti Jr. will retire at the end of the month. Giliberti has been with the Medford Fire Department for nearly four decades and led it for more than 23 years.

Deputy Fire Chief John Freedman, a 26-year veteran of the department, has been named the next chief, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced Tuesday.

"I am honored to appoint John Freedman as Medford's new fire chief," Lungo-Koehn said. "In his decades of service to the city of Medford, Deputy Chief Freedman has been a dedicated and valued member of our fire department. He continues to do great work for his fellow firefighters and for the entire Medford community, and is always working to expand his training and his knowledge. I also want to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to Chief Giliberti for his years of service to the City of Medford. It has been an honor to work with him, and I wish him all the best in retirement."

Freedman has been deputy chief since 2015, previously earning the ranks of captain and lieutenant during his tenure as a Medford firefighter.

He is a U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War and holds a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology and an associate's degree in Fire Science from Bunker Hill Community College.

"Deputy Chief Freedman has been a valuable asset to the Medford Fire Department throughout his career," Giliberti said in a statement. "I am confident that he will do a great job in leading the department into the future. I wish him all the best and look forward to helping him in his new role in any way I can."

Freedman said he is excited to continue bringing positive change to the department by advancing firefighters' skills and abilities and upgrading their equipment and facilities.

"I am incredibly honored to step into this new role as fire chief for the Medford Fire Department," said Freedman. "I have enjoyed every aspect of this job, from starting out as a firefighter to being in a command role. As I have risen through the ranks, I took every opportunity to share what I learned through training and experience, and I am excited to be able to continue that as chief."