TWO NEW LYNNFIELD POLICE OFFICERS were introduced to the community during the Select Board’s Sept. 29 meeting. From left, Town Administrator Rob Dolan, Police Chief Nick Secatore, Patrol Officer Angelica Noble, Patrol Officer Anthony Magwood, Select Board Vice Chair Alexis Leahy and Select Board Chair Phil Crawford. Missing from photo is Select Board member Dick Dalton. (Courtesy Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Two new police officers and four new firefighters were introduced to the community during the Select Board’s Sept. 29 meeting.
Police Chief Nick Secatore said Patrol Officer Anthony Magwood began working for the Police Department last February.
“Officer Magwood graduated from the police academy (in February) and came to us at the end of February,” said Secatore. “He is working on his own, is fully trained and is filling the shifts quite a bit. He grew up in town and is a graduate of Lynnfield High School. He was working another job and decided to come over our way. We hired him from the Civil Service list.”
Secatore said Patrol Officer Angelica Noble began working for the Police Department in late summer.
“Officer Noble comes to us with some experience from a neighboring department,” said Secatore. “She was also hired from the Civil Service list. She has an MBA (masters in Business Administration) and quite a bit of administrative and finance experience as well. She has joined us and is working on her own as well. She needed less training than someone coming from the academy.”
Secatore informed the Villager that Officer Noble is the second woman to serve as a Lynnfield police officer. He said Margaret White was the first woman to serve.
After Magwood and Noble were introduced to the community, the meeting’s attendees gave both police officers a round of applause.
“Welcome aboard,” said Select Board Chair Phil Crawford. “We are glad to have you here and we wish you the best on the force. I can’t thank you enough for doing this. I appreciate it.”
Secatore said the Police Department currently has 22 officers, is looking to hire two more. He hopes to hire both officers in either December or January.
“We are on the right path for the plan that we have planned for,” said Secatore.
After the two officers are hired off of the Civil Service list, Secatore said they will enroll in the police academy.
“We will then get them on line next summer,” said Secatore. “That is the current plan. I will give another update when we go through the budget cycle.”
Crawford said it was “great to see it all coming together.”
New firefighters
Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Glenn Davis introduced three out of four new firefighters to the community and the Select Board. He recalled that the Fire Department received a $1,199,469.08 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant from FEMA last fall.
“That allowed us to hire four additional career firefighters to increase our ranks,” said Davis. “That has allowed the Lynnfield Fire Department to increase our staffing, particularly overnight and give us the ability to use two pieces of apparatus, whether it be two ambulances or a fire truck and an ambulance.”
Davis said the Fire Department has been responding to mutual aid calls in other communities due to private ambulance companies not being able to respond due to the EMT staffing crisis.
“The ability to handle that second call with the current ongoing EMT crisis in the area is critical to the residents of Lynnfield,” said Davis. “We don’t know where that second ambulance might be coming from with extended delays. It has been a great increase for us here.”
Davis said the four new firefighters were hired on Jan. 16, 2025, and graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in May. He said Firefighter/EMT Anthony Cannella lives in Wakefield.
“Anthony has been a call firefighter in Lynnfield since 2023,” said Davis. “He will be attending paramedic school in the spring of 2026.”
Davis said Firefighter/EMT Stephen Corlett has lived in town with his family for the past 18 years.
“Stephen has been a call firefighter here since 2021,” said Davis. “He is currently attending paramedic school, and is hoping to achieve that in the very near future.”
Davis said Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Pozerski is “one of the first outside career firefighters hired in the town of Lynnfield.”
“Andrew comes to us from Marshfield,” said Davis. “He has a strong EMS background. He has completed his paramedic training and he has joined us as a full-time career firefighter and paramedic.”
Davis said Firefighter/EMT Celia Xie was unable to attend the meeting because she was attending paramedic school.
“Celia comes to us from Boxford,” said Davis. “She has experience at the Georgetown Fire Department.”
After Davis introduced Cannella, Corlett and Porzerski and gave an overview of Xie’s experience, the four firefighters were given a round of applause.
“We are very, very happy to have you here,” said Crawford. “Welcome to the town of Lynnfield. We look forward to working with you. The EMS and medical piece is huge in this town.”
Crawford told Pozerski that he was “hoping you are not commuting from Marshfield.”
“No sir,” chuckled Pozerski.
The SAFER Grant that was used to hire the four additional career firefighters is paying the full cost of salaries and benefits of the four positions for the next three years. The SAFER Grant Program provides funding directly to fire departments to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments.