Turners Falls Fire Chief John Zellmann is retiring next month following 37 years with the department. He will be succeeded by Deputy Fire Chief Brian McCarthy, effective Nov. 15.
Zellmann, who began fighting fires at the age of 14 with the Lake Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department like his father before him, said it is “just time” to step down. He does so feeling positive about the direction of the department with McCarthy at the helm.
“Brian was the top person in the whole process,” Zellmann said, explaining that McCarthy was one of two internal candidates and four candidates overall. “The department is in good hands with the new Chief McCarthy.”
Zellmann became a full-time staff member in 1987 and deputy chief in 2014, when the position was newly instituted to lessen the increasing workload of the fire chief.