Taunton fire chief says good-bye to job he loves: What he's seen and learned. What's next?

TAUNTON — “I always said I wanted to live my 50s like I was in my 20s,” joked 52-year-old Taunton Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw, who is retiring after 28 years with the department.

Bradshaw said it’s a decision he’d been debating since last year, saying the average tenure of a municipal fire chief in Massachusetts doesn’t exceed five years. He’s been chief for 13 years.

He adds that there is still much he wants to do with this life.

“The fire department has been great to me, but I don’t define myself by being fire chief,” said Bradshaw, whose last day on the job is Saturday, Aug. 12.

Family tradition

If you know Bradshaw then you know that serving on the Fire Department is a family tradition. Both his grandfather, Lawrence "Red" Bradshaw, and father, Russ Bradshaw, served with Taunton FD, as well as a few of his uncles.

Before Bradshaw joined the Taunton Fire Department in 1995 he was living out his rock n’ roll fantasy as a drummer playing in bands across the indie rock scene in Providence and southeastern Massachusetts.

He remembers being in the opening band for shows in the early 90s headlined by such rising rock bands as Blind Melon and The Lemonheads, as well as hanging out with members of Soul Asylum and The Screaming Trees. All this while getting his bachelor’s in sociology from UMass Dartmouth, formerly Southeastern Massachusetts University.

What changed?

“I needed a job. One that paid the bills,” said Bradshaw. He said while his father supported his musical pursuits, he was also “very adamant” about his testing and training to be a firefighter.

“He didn’t make it as a rock star, so he didn’t have any other choice,” teased his father Russ in a June 2005 article in The Gazette that profiled the whole Bradshaw family in the Taunton Fire Department.

Tim Bradshaw acquiesced, admitting to having few options at the time.

“When I was offered the job, I don’t think I really wanted it,” he said, but that sentiment changed quickly.  “Once I got here, I realized this is a good job. It’s a great place to work. People should be banging down the doors to work here.”

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Learning the ropes

Bradshaw describes himself in the beginning with the department as naïve and “wanting the dangerous stuff.” He recalled one of his first big calls: a fire breaking out in a small apartment building on School Street, only a couple of blocks from Central Fire Station.

His unit's lieutenant instructed him to get on a ladder and bring two kids down that were stuck on the roof. Despite saving the lives of those two kids, he was upset over not being part of battling the fire.

“I was young. I was upset and complaining about it because I wanted to be on the line,” Bradshaw said.

Later on, his deputy chief chewed him out over his attitude, exclaiming, “You stupid bastard!” because Bradshaw carried two kids down the ladder during an emergency, an accomplishment not many firefighters attain.

“He said, ‘You are going to work your whole damn career, and that’s never going to happen again.’ He was right,” Bradshaw said.

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Rising through the ranks

As Bradshaw matured, he would rise through the ranks over the next 15 years.

“Whether I was on the line, or on the truck, there was job satisfaction,” Bradshaw said.

He was appointed lieutenant in 1999 and became a captain in 2002. In 2005, he became a deputy chief, actually taking over his father’s position when he retired.

In 2010, Ronald Nastri, a 38-year veteran, retired after only serving a year as chief.

“Nastri had it because of seniority,” said Bradshaw.

Nastri had taken over after former Chief Leman Padelford retired early amid controversy and criticism from both his department and city officials, while he was in the midst of disciplinary hearings over allegations of mismanagement.

Adjustment period

Bradshaw became Nastri’s successor after taking the chiefs exam and getting the highest score of the candidates.

Bradshaw recalls the adjustment period he had when he first became chief.

“I knew there would be change. I underestimated how I would feel when you separate yourself from the rank and file,” he said.

Citing one example, “sometimes I felt I had more power as a deputy chief” when it came to the disciplining of personnel because then he was “still one of the guys.” Now, as chief, any disciplinary action towards personnel meant a lengthy back-and-forth process with the union and attorneys.

Inheriting deficiencies

As chief, Bradshaw was responsible for the administrative side of the department, like the budget, as well as dealing with direct communication with the mayor’s office and city officials.

When he took over as chief in 2010 Bradshaw had the challenge of dealing with severe budget constraints, on top of a hiring freeze, the consequence of a bad economic period both locally and nationally.

He explained when he took over, the department’s personnel had “atrophied” to low levels far beyond the compliance standards for the department.

“At the time, the department was going in the wrong direction. The economy at the time in the city was bad,” he said.

Under Mayor Thomas Hoye’s administration Bradshaw secured grant funds from the Federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program for new hires. When the grants expired, Bradshaw said Hoye added their positions to the annual budget, securing them permanently and improving staffing.

Bradshaw said his last days as chief are being spent working with executive staff on coming up with new measures for attracting future firefighters.

Also, when Bradshaw took over, the Fire Department’s budget was roughly $10 million. Now, it’s almost $18 million.

“Getting more money into the Fire Department is one of my biggest accomplishments,” said Bradshaw, citing the positive relations he’s had with different mayoral administrations over the years.

Staffing that makes sense

Bradshaw said when he took over as chief he was looking to improve how engines and units were staffed.

“We’ve made significant changes, but I can’t say we made a complete reorganization,” he said.

One policy he abolished was allowing any vehicles to be single-manned.

“In a city this size, that made no sense,” he said.

Bradshaw said the department was running on three-person fire engine teams. He said the National Fire Protection Agency recommends a minimum of four-person teams per engine truck, which Bradshaw has worked to achieve for the majority of the fiscal year, depending on the season and the department’s overtime budget.

“This got more positive feedback from officers,” he said.

Leaving a legacy

With this past April’s public referendum vote approving the funding of Taunton’s dual public safety complex — which will house the Police Department and Central Fire Station headquarters — Bradshaw said he feels secure about the future of the department. He said he stuck around “for the world tour” doing public relations and promotion of the public safety proposal leading up to the vote. 

“I’m very happy that vote happened,” he said, adding that working with Mayor Shaunna O’Connell has been very beneficial for the department. “Shaunna’s been easy to work for.”

O’Connell said in a written statement: "Chief Bradshaw is an outstanding leader and has been a tremendous asset to the city of Taunton throughout his 28 years with the Fire Department.

"Since day one in his role as Chief, Tim has worked diligently to improve the operations and response times of the department, paving the way for a top-tier department which proudly serves our residents."

"Chief Bradshaw has been a trusted and capable colleague during my time as mayor, and his presence at the department will be dearly missed throughout the City."

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Going out on a high note

At the Aug. 8 City Council meeting, Bradshaw, making his final official appearance, said he believes he is leaving the Fire Department in a much better place than when he assumed the role of chief.

“I think we are in a better place than we were 13 years ago. A lot of that has to do with a lot of people. Not just me,” Bradshaw said.

He added, "When you have good budgets, you can do good things."

On what his retirement plans look like, Bradshaw said, most likely, “I’ll be drumming much more.”

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton Fire Chief Tim Bradshaw retires: What he's seen and learned