WESTFIELD – Patrick Kane Sr. served with the Westfield Fire Department for 39 years, reaching the rank of Deputy Fire Chief before retiring late last month. Kane’s retirement on Sept. 25 created a vacancy in the department’s command ranks which the Fire Commission acted last night to fill.
The commission interviewed the five Fire Captains eligible for promotion and voted to appoint Fire Captain Patrick Kane, Jr., to the Deputy Chief post his father had just recently vacated.
Kane began his firefighting career as a member of the fire brigade at the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Barnes Regional Airport. Kane served with the ANG fire unit until his appointment to the Westfield Fire Department.
Kane, whose appointment is effective today, was the highest ranked candidate on the list of eligible candidates provided by the state’s Human Resources Division (Civil Service) and had the highest test score.
Kane’s appoint from captain to deputy chief created a vacancy in that rank, but the appointment process was a much simpler process since there was only one eligible candidate for the Fire Commission to consider for the interview and appointment.
The commission voted to appoint Christopher Kane, Pat senior’s son and Pat junior’s brother, to the captain position. Christopher Kane’s effective date of rank is also today.
