Fire Chiefs

Since the SFRDs establishment in 1942, Sherborn has been served by seven Fire Chiefs, in addition to several Interim Fire Chiefs. Read below to learn about Sherborn's Fire Chiefs. 

Chief Lester G. Klein, 1942 to 1977

Chief Klein began his service as a Sherborn Firefighter in 1933, which was before the SFRD was officially established. One of his first acts as Chief was to create a state-guided training course for the town's on-call firefighters. From 1938 and on, he and wis wife Barbara lived at 31 Washington Street. For many years, Barbara acted as the sole dispatcher of the SFRD. She would summons the Firefighters by calling them all on the phone. Chief Klein eventually bought and renovated the gas station and garage across the street from Station 1.  

Chief Francis Heffron, 1977 to 1998

Chief Heffron began fighting Sherborn's fires in the late 1940s, when he was attending high school at the Sawin Academy. He was appointed Fire Chief upon the retirement of Chief Klein. Like Chief Klein, "Franny" did most of the work and maintenance on the fire apparatus and other equipment. His wife Dora did the report writing and dispatching for the department for many years. During his later years as Chief, the SFRD was modernized with the adoption of the ambulance service and other programs.

Chief John Burke, 1999 to 2002

Chief Burke joined the SFRD in 1983, was appointed to Lieutenant in 1990 and as a Captain in 1995. He was appointed a Deputy Chief under Chief Heffron and was named Fire Chief in 1999 after Chief Heffron retired. He developed the incident command systems used by the department at the time, modernized apparatus, and instituted hazardous materials training for all department members. He was known to use his personal helicopter to deliver Santa Claus to the annual Fire & Rescue Association pancake breakfast.

Chief Neil W. McPherson, 2002 to 2010

Chief McPherson first joined the Fire Explorer Post in the early 1980s before joining the SFRD in 1989. He was appointed a Lieutenant in 1998, was appointed Deputy Fire Chief in 2000, and was appointed Fire Chief in 2002. He is the third longest serving Fire Chief of the SFRD, and also served as Interim Fire Chief from 2012 - 2013, and 2015 - 2017. Under his leadership, the SFRD added more staff to be at the fire station to provide ambulance services. He also replaced several apparatus and provided for more modernized fire equipment.

Chief Tim Morrissey, 2013 to 2015

Chief Morrissey was hired as the town's first full-time Fire Chief in 2013. He was a Paramedic and helped staff the Intermediate ambulance service at the time. 

Chief Erron Kinney, 2017 to 2019

Chief Kinney was hired from Tennessee as the town's second full-time Fire Chief. While Chief, he added the first full-time firefighter for the Town after securing a grant, he replaced Engine 2 & Engine 6, and Station 1 was renovated.

Chief Zachary J. Ward, 2019 to present 

Chief Ward was hired as the first full-time Firefighter in 2018 at the rank of Captain. He was appointed as Fire Chief in 2019 after Chief Kinney left the SFRD and is currently the fourth longest serving Fire Chief of the SFRD. When appointed, he was the youngest Fire Chief in Massachusetts and was the youngest known full-time Fire Chief in the United States.