Fighting Fires for Life: Getting to Know Chief Durgin

When the phone rings at the Fire Chief David Durgin knows the call could be about anything from a child locked in a vehicle to a serious accident to a house fire.

"It's zero to 60 in three seconds," said Durgin.

And that's why he's always loved this job.

At 12 years old, Durgin was growing up in Hopedale, a town where in the late '60s fire whistles penetrated the mill town air when there was trouble. He was fascinated by it—fascinated by fighting fires and watching the firefighers race off to them. He'd hang around at the Hopedale Fire Station, learning, and dreaming of one day being on the squad like his dad.

He refers to the desire as a "genetic flaw."

"I remember one day there was this fire and you could look across the pond and see the smoke," said Durgin. "My father was already on the job, on call. I went to that fire and watched, and started hanging around the station a little more after that."

Chief Charles Watson, who was the Hopedale chief since serving in WWII as an Air Force firefighter, loved kids and encouarged them to participate. Durgin and other teens would be help by lugging gas and hoses and other support jobs.

At 18, in 1973, Durgin joined the department as an on-call member. "There was a waiting list to get on that department," he said, "and my time came up. I got in, and was assigned to Engine Two." After high school in '74, the economy started to tank, and Durgin landed in the construction and painting trade, "but firefighting was still my love." He took the civil service exams, too. 

"There was a court decree about equal hiring, and minority hires went ahead," said Durgin. "So my 90-something was equal to a 33."

The closest he could get to fire control was a job at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, where he "dealt with the forest fire end of it," until 1985. He left there as the acting district fire warden. Paramedic training led to a job for an ambulance company, and also for Milford Hospital in its transport paramedic unit.

During that time the fire chief in Hopedale left on disability, leaving open a spot on the department. Durgin applied, and joined as a firefighter, and was promoted to captain of the on-call department.  When the chief's job officially opened, Durgin put in his paperwork. At age 31, he became the fire chief, one of the youngest ever appointed. Hopedale, too, is where his dad had been the chief until 1981.

In 1996, Durgin's contract expired in Hopedale, and he said he was "out the door, for lack of a better word." Durgin then landed a job at Marlborough Hospital as the emergency medical services coordinator, where he supervised the paramedic unit and also coordinated the training for the area's fire department.

Northborough's Fire Chief Brian Duggan in 1998 announced he was leaving his post for Northampton, and Durgin became one of three candidates for the job. "We had planned a huge family trip to the Grand Canyon, and I had to cancel the entire trip to apply for the job," said Durgin. "At the end of the day, it was worth it."

"Northborough has been an excellent place to live," said Durgin. "My wife has worked for more than 30 years, too, at the Metrowest Medical Center. From an academic standpoint, it was a wonderful opportunity for my kids, too."

Durgin's oldest son, Andrew, works for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in Maine, and his son Jonathan is a pre-med science major in Fairfield, CT.

"There has always been a lot of public service and commitment in my family," said Durgin. "I just really like the job. I know it sounds corny, but it's an exciting job and no day is ever the same. You never know what's going to happen. It's very challenging at times and it's emotionally heart-wrenching at times."