Recently retired Rochester Fire Chief Norm Sanborn says he can’t stay silent about his shock and displeasure that a longtime colleague wasn’t chosen to replace him.
The city announced this week that Bedford Deputy Fire Chief Mark Klose will succeed Sanborn as the head of the Rochester Fire Department.
In an interview with Foster’s Daily Democrat Wednesday night, Sanborn said he had been grooming Rochester Assistant Fire Chief Mark Dupuis for the position for roughly three years as part of what Sanborn described as an industry-standard management succession plan.
“It’s a tough situation,” said Sanborn. “I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I just can’t on this one.”
Sanborn said he believes it was wrong for the city to pass over Dupuis because Dupuis “knows what’s going on, knows the city and knows the operations inside and out.”