The Lynn Fire Chief couldn’t help but crack a joke as he pinned his younger brother at the Swampscott fire chief swearing-in ceremony.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for an opportunity to stab him in the chest,” Lynn Fire Chief Stephen Archer, 55, said with a laugh.
After months of interviewing candidates, the town appointed Swampscott Fire Captain Graham F. Archer as its newest fire chief at the Select Board meeting Wednesday night. The appointment was in anticipation of the retirement of current Fire Chief Kevin Breen, who dedicated more than four decades of his life to the town’s department, serving as chief for the last nine years.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Breen, 66. “The emotion is enormous. It’s been fairly common during interviews for new hires for me to say this has been the greatest job anyone could have. I’ve actually done just about every job that there is in the Swampscott Fire Department and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.”