Andover Deputy Fire Chief Murphy Among Fire Academy Graduates

Andover Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Murphy was one of 36 fire service leaders to graduate Thursday from the 25th offering of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program.

Murphy became deputy chief last fall upon the retirement of Kevin J. Connors.

The 14-week program is a comprehensive course providing training in the non-fire suppression aspects of managing fire departments. It was developed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standards for chief fire officers, and is delivered jointly by the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said, “These fire service leaders are committed to continually developing their management and leadership skills in order to provide the highest level of service to the communities they protect.”

The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program expects to help fire officers improve their ability to lead and manage personnel and the department, to provide skills to understand employees’ needs and problems, to promote personal productivity, to increase the capacity to manage both human and technical resources, and to increase inter-agency cooperation, according to a statement.

The curriculum covers topics such as human resource management, ethics, executive leadership and legal issues, governmental and organization structures, information management, customer-focused strategic planning, legal aspects, budgets and public finance, community awareness and public relations and labor relations.

The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program, tuition-free.