Brattleboro fire chief plans military leave

Fire Chief Jay Symonds will be away from the town for about a year after receiving military orders.

Fire Chief Jay Symonds will be away from the town for about a year after receiving military orders that require him to take leave beginning in the first week of October.

Town officials have chosen Peter Lynch to serve as interim chief and emergency management director during Symonds’ absence. The transition is intended to keep fire, EMS, preparedness and incident response duties operating without interruption while Symonds fulfills his National Guard obligations.

Symonds said he is serving as an engineer in the Vermont National Guard and has now reached 29 years of military service. He currently holds the rank of command sergeant major with the 204th Engineer Battalion. He said he will provide more details about the deployment once he is cleared to do so.

Before moving into project management, Symonds began his military career as a heavy equipment operator using bulldozers and excavators. After learning of the orders, he met with town leaders to work through the staffing plan for his departure.

Lynch has long ties to Brattleboro Fire Department. He started there as a firefighter in 1984, later rose to assistant fire chief, and spent nine years in that role. He then left in 2016 to lead fire service training at the Vermont Fire Academy before returning to Brattleboro in 2022 as assistant director of public works.

According to Symonds, Lynch was selected because of his experience, leadership background and familiarity with the department. The town is also adjusting the DPW management structure so Lynch’s former role will be replaced in a slightly different arrangement.

Symonds said he expects to return after the yearlong leave and noted that no changes to that timeline have been indicated. He added that he and Lynch have been meeting regularly to transfer ongoing projects and emergency management responsibilities so the handoff is smooth for the department and the town.

He said the fire department has a strong leadership group and committed personnel, and expressed confidence that Brattleboro will continue to receive reliable service during his absence.