Fall River native Jeffrey Bacon to lead fire department as chief starting next month

FALL RIVER — The City Council approved the appointment of District Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon as the new head of the Fall River Fire Department on Tuesday.

He is the city’s youngest fire chief in recent memory at age 47. The department has cycled through chiefs every few years recently, but Bacon said he’s in it for the long haul and eager to begin making meaningful cultural changes to the department he’s served in since November 2002.

“I look at it as an exciting opportunity,” said Bacon, who will take on the job Feb. 11, a day after current Fire Chief Roger St. Martin retires. “You really can’t make change anywhere in two years, three years or four years. Let’s come up with a goal, let's change the mission statement, let’s really focus the department on ways we can benefit the city.”

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Reconnecting with the community

Understanding that change takes time, Bacon said one of his main goals is to reconnect the fire department with the Fall River community.

“There are three public safety departments in the city, and we have the least interaction day-to-day with the citizens of the city, just because of the nature of our work,” said Bacon. “So I’m going to challenge our guys to start some sort of community service initiative so we can be more present in people’s daily lives.”

Bacon said making those reconnections is going to do a few things, including improve morale within the department, and the public’s perception of the department.

“And really regain some of that public support that we really haven’t had in a few years because we are kind of hidden away,” said Bacon.

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Walking the walk

Bacon, who lives in Somerset, was born and raised in Fall River. Unlike a lot of firefighters who were born into generations of firefighters, his parents both ran businesses in the city. He graduated from B.M.C. Durfee High School in 1994 and earned a degree from Stonehill College with the goal of joining corporate America.

“But I realized I hated it,” said Bacon, who left the corporate world to work with his dad at his overhead door company in Fall River.

Then a family friend who was a Fall River firefighter suggested Bacon take the fire exam, and he was hired.

“And I fell for it, hook, line and sinker. And I will tell you, I have a 14-year-old son who wants to be a Fall River firefighter, so maybe I’m starting something,” said Bacon.

Since joining the fire department, Bacon has been involved in several fundraising campaigns with fellow firefighters and for different causes.

He recalled a conversation with fellow firefighter and union president Jason Burns, whom he’s known since sixth grade.

Burns told him he went to a party, a mustache party, that he said was a blast and that the city's firefighters should organize one.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Jay, we’re pretty fortunate on this job. Why don’t we do it as a fundraiser?' And the 'Mustachio Bashio' was started,” said Bacon.

The fundraising event has helped with raising money for Operation Warm, an effort the firefighters are involved in that has given hundreds of warm winter coats to Fall River children.

Mustachio Bashio has also raised funds to help fellow firefighters and other city workers over the years who have been affected by illness or hard times during layoffs. Their “Mustachio Bashio Big Hair Bowling Night” was an ode to the 1980s, with attendees wearing costumes ranging from Freddie Mercury to the Ghostbusters.

“We’re pretty fortunate in this city,” Bacon said of the Fall River firefighters. “So let’s try and give back and see what we can do with that. I always wanted to give back to a city that has done so much for us.”

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‘This is the ultimate challenge,’ new chief says

Throughout his career, Bacon said every promotion within the department was because at some point he was striving for more responsibility.

For the past three weeks, Bacon has been at fire headquarters on Commerce Drive, shadowing the fire administration including helping the department prepare its 2025 budget.

“I would max out the responsibility and said, ‘OK, I need a new challenge,” said Bacon. “I don’t know where I will go after here, but this is the ultimate challenge on the fire department. I can’t tell you that I always wanted to be fire chief, but I can tell you that I’m happy I’m going to be here.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River native Jeffrey Bacon to lead city fire department as chief