A Haverhill man is the latest addition to the Merrimac Fire Department.
Nicholas O’Niell began working last Saturday as a full-time firefighter. For the past year, he worked as an on-call firefighter and EMT. Fire Chief Larry Fisher thanked O’Niell for his “hard work and dedication to the citizens of Merrimac during his time on-call.”
Fisher added, “Nicholas has been a significant contributor to the department as an on-call firefighter/EMT. We are looking forward to working with him on a daily basis as a full-time member.”
O’Niell previously applied for a position on Merrimac Fire despite not having any qualifications for the fire service. However, officials said, he was determined and tackled the challenge of acquiring base knowledge of the fire industry while gaining experience with both Merrimac Fire and Haverhill Fire Departments.
O’Niell, who was sponsored by the City of Haverhill, attended the Massachusetts Fire Academy earning his Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II certifications last year. He also earned his EMT certification.