Press Release  State Fire Marshal Appoints New Hazmat Director

STOW — State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine today announced that he has appointed Timothy Gallagher as the new director of the Department of Fire Services’ Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division.

“Tim brings about 25 years of professional experience to this vital public safety role,” said State Fire Marshal Davine, who previously served as a Hazmat technician. “He has worked directly with dozens of local, state, and federal agencies and thousands of fire service leaders to prepare for, respond to, and recover from crises that put people, property, and the environment at risk. I have every confidence in his ability to advance our mission in the years to come.”

Gallagher previously served as deputy director of the division, which coordinates about 250 Hazmat technicians across five regional districts covering all of Massachusetts. He had held that role since 2017, supporting preparation and response to countless incidents that included Massachusetts’ response to the COVID pandemic and instrumental roles in the state’s first mobile testing sites. He received a Commonwealth of Massachusetts 2020 Citation for Outstanding Performance in connection with these efforts.

As division director, Gallagher will provide oversight of Hazmat personnel and their associated training, equipment, and apparatus on around 200 calls per year. These incidents range from residential mercury spills to lab-based chemical reactions to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) threats. The Hazmat Division also encompasses the Joint Hazard Incident Response Team, which partners Hazmat techs with State Police Bomb Squad personnel on calls involving certain energetic or reactive substances, and the Special Operations team, which provides direct operational support to local fire departments at emergency scenes and planned events. Gallagher will play a key role in coordinating these teams at this summer’s World Cup and other major events.

“Massachusetts Hazmat technicians and staff are highly trained, extremely capable, and deeply committed to protecting the public,” Gallagher said. “The Special Operations team is a vital part of our support for local fire departments statewide. It’s an honor to work with them on behalf of the Commonwealth, and I will continue to approach these duties with their safety and the safety of our residents and visitors foremost in my mind.”

Prior to his work with the Department of Fire Services, Gallagher served in various roles with the Massachusetts National Guard 1st Civil Support Team from 1999 to 2013. Among other responsibilities, he was responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing CBRNE exercises; conducting threat assessments; providing subject matter expertise and solutions to agencies at every level of government; acting as the Weapons of Mass Destruction liaison to regional law enforcement; and providing operational support at events of national and international significance.

Gallagher is a graduate of UMass Dartmouth with a master’s degree in emergency management from Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He is a Persian Gulf War veteran and has served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare specialist in a US Army Engineer unit. He holds numerous professional and technical certifications from the US Army, Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, National Fire Academy, and other agencies.

###