Town Meeting members approved eight of nine articles regarding town finances on Monday night with relatively little fanfare, but the evening's business was overshadowed by a surprise retirement ceremony for Fire Chief Kevin Breen. Breen was honored by Town Meeting for his 43 years of service to the Swampscott Fire Department, which kicked off with a video featuring remarks from his wife, Leslie, Gov. Charlie Baker and Select Board chairman Peter Spellios, and concluded with a standing ovation from those in attendance.
While surrounded by family members, his fellow firefighters and his successor, Capt. Graham Archer, Breen was presented with citations from state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and the state senate and was gifted with an engraved chair from the town of Swampscott, which included his years of service from 1976 to 2019.