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Conley named new fire chief

Amerst Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to ap­point Matthew Conley as the town’s Fire Chief.

Following the vote, Chairman Dwight Brew said, "Conley had been acting fire chief since May of 2014. Then, the follow­ing month, the Emergency Medical Services Director resigned and the Board asked Conley to accept the responsibilities of manag­ing the EMS Department in addition to the Fire De­partment."

The Selectmen con­tracted with Municipal Recourses Inc. to run the recruitment process. Thirty-two candidates applied for the position.

MRI screened resumes, administered a written essay examination and conducted a day-long as­sessment process before giving the Selectmen the top six candidates. The Selectmen interviewed 4 of the 6 candidates and concluded that Conley’s qualifications most close­ly matched the needs of the department and the community.

The Board also utilized MRI to perform an analy­sis of the possible merger of the Fire and Emergen­cy Services Departments. As a result, the Selectmen decided the two depart­ments would merge July 1, 2015.

Conley will lead the ef­forts to combine Fire and EMS and will head up the newly formed organiza­tion.

"I look forward to the challenges of creating a new department and I’m confident that with the support of the staff of both departments, things will go smoothly." Conley said. "I am humbled by the support the Select­men have given to me. I will strive to live up to expectations they have set for me."

Conley is a 29-year mem­ber of the Amherst Fire Department. He resides in Amherst with his wife, Lynda, and his daughter, Ashley.

For more information, contact Town Adminis­trator Jim O’Mara at 673- 6041 or email jomara@ amherstnh.gov.