New Waltham Fire Chief Sworn In

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham officially has a new fire chief.

"He's a consummate professional," said Councilor Robert Logan.

The city swore in Thomas MacInnis, of Barnes Street, Monday night as his mother, wife, children and one of his grandchildren looked on. MacInnis was promoted from senior deputy in the department to the acting chief after former chief Paul Paul Ciccone retired earlier this year.

MacInnis was born and raised in Waltham. He met his wife of 36 years when he was 13 years old in the city. His wife along with his two children and their spouses and one of his grandchildren — and his mother showed up to support him, waiting two hours outside the chamber as the city council went long during a closed door session.

Rows of firefighters showed up and stood in City Council meeting room to show support.

MacInnis was the first in his family to become a firefighter. He decided to take the civil service exam on a whim after working for Raytheon for several years, a job he said he decidedly knew was not for him.

He made it into the department when he was 28 years old. And it was love at first sight, he said.

"I found my dream job in 1988. I got on the fire department," said MacInnis.

He was a firefighter for about a decade, was promoted to Lt and moved into fire prevention, where he was worked for some 20 years. One of the biggest investigations he's worked on was the Cooper Street fire, he said. He also investigated the fire at Shoppers Cafe.

But the fire that sticks with him the most is the first large-scale fire he worked on, the Williams Street fire.

"It's still in my mind after all these years. That never goes away," he told Patch.

MacInnis has had some time to consider what he wants to bring to focus on within the department, he was up for the job once before, in 2012. It comes down to a culture change around safety, he said.

"Culture change in terms of limiting exposure to smoke, cancer awareness and prevention and hands on training," he said.

Here's what the City Council was discussing that took so long: Waltham City Council Votes To Take Stigmatine Property

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch