Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Natick Select Board seeks resident to join Fire Chief Screening Committee

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The Natick Select Board is requesting applications for the Natick Fire Chief Screening Committee, and will choose 1 Natick resident to join the group.

Natick Fire Chief Michael Lentini, who was appointed to the position in 2018, plans to retire in May after more than 30 years with the department.

The Screening Committee, in addition to including a resident appointed by the Select Board, will include reps from various town bodies, including the fire department, School Committee, Personnel Board, and the Town Administrator and Police Chief will be members as well.

Screening Committee tasks include reviewing applications for the position of Fire Chief, planning for and conducting interviews, and participating in the process of determining a list of finalists. Meetings will likely be at night.

Interested individuals should submit an application no later than Oct. 6.

The Select Board will be interviewing candidates at their meeting on Oct. 13, 2021.

For more information or questions please contact the Select Board’s office at -508-647-6410 or selectboard@natickma.org.

West Natick fire station
Chief Lentini at new station #4
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Natick Fire offering free CPR classes

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CPR classes are provided by the Natick Fire Department.  The location of the classes has yet to be determined and will be emailed about a week ahead of the scheduled class time.

Please email Firefighter Alan Gentile at agentile@natickma.org with the date of the class you would like to attend.

  • August 18             CPR/AED       3:30 – 6:00 pm
  • September 14       First Aid         3:30 – 6:00 pm
  • September 29       CPR/AED      6:30 – 9:00 pm

More: The new West Natick Fire Station #4 is hot—and we got a tour

West Natick fire station
West Natick fire station

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The new West Natick Fire Station #4 is hot—and we got a tour

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Construction on the West Natick Fire Station #4 at 268 Speen St., is complete, and Chief Michael Lentini took some time out of his day to show us around the 17,000 square-foot station. Here are a few pictures of the brand-new, ADA-compliant building and all its bells and whistles including the five double-deep apparatus bays; training areas; enhanced safety measures; and more.

West Natick fire station
Although West Natick Fire Station #4 is officially open to the public, please don’t stop in for now unless it’s an emergency. The driveway into the parking lot is a little rough and not yet well marked. “We want to do an Open House during Fire Prevention Week in October. At that point work on the station should be done,” Lentini said.

 

West Natick fire station
The 5-bay station was designed by Tecton Architects and includes 5 double-deep apparatus bays that can house up to 10 pieces of equipment. Castagna Construction of Newburyport was awarded the $12.3 million contract in early 2019.

 

West Natick fire station
Natick’s Fire Station #4 supports the largest call volume within Natick and responds to calls within other districts as needed. A bigger station was needed due to the changes in the West Natick end of town over the past 20 years. Between the expansion of the mall; 215 units of housing added at Nouvelle in 2008; the 250+ units at Cloverleaf apartments; along with the 164 apartments at Avenu and the 135 rooms at Marriott Residence Inn; and more the time was right for the project, which was paid for through a debt exclusion override. “It went a little over from the original estimate because asbestos was found on the site,” Lentini said, “so that had to be remediated.”

 

West Natick fire station
Chief Lentini says he hopes to have 1 ambulance working full-time out of Station 4 in the near future. Engine 4 is stationed here, of course, and there is space for the Haz Mat, Rescue, and Special Operations trucks. A spare engine will be kept here as well.

 

West Natick fire station
Safety measures were put in place in response to studies that show that firefighters are diagnosed with cancer at a 30% higher rate than that of the general population. To that end, there’s a dirty side of the station and a clean side (above). “Everyone has 2 sets of gear and garments. No carcinogens go near clean gear,” Lentini said. That means when firefighters come back to the station after a call, they take care of their gear on one side of the building in dedicated washers and dryers. Once the gear is clean, they bring it to the other side and place it at the ready for the next call. On the clean side, another set of washers and dryers is used for towels, bedding, and other items that need to be laundered that do not go out on calls.

 

West Natick fire station
Nice kitchen. They could start a restaurant here. I’ll have the Station 4-alarm chili, please.

 

West Natick fire station
Tecton Architects took a look at the dining table and decided the surface needed a little spark. Look out, fires, the Fightin’ Fourth is coming to get you.

 

West Natick fire station
Not to be outdone, Castagna Construction gifted the station with a grill. Medium rare for me during the Open House, thanks.

 

West Natick fire station
The living quarters are spare affairs. “Everything was pretty well thought out. We didn’t need extravagance. We just needed functionality,” Lentini said.

 

West Natick fire station
West Natick fire station

 

West Natick fire station
A corner was carved out for the police so that officers don’t have to go downtown all the time to fill out reports. There won’t be an officer here full time. It’s just a spot to do paperwork.

 

West Natick fire station
A generator is ready to go in case of power outages.

 

West Natick fire station
If this sign looks familiar, congratulations, you’re one of the many who visited the now-closed Leonard Morse emergency room on Union Street. This treasure was scored on the up-and-up and added to the Station 4 to give the joint atmosphere.

 

West Natick fire station
Thanks for the tour, Chief Lentini. He’s been the NFD top dog for the past 4 years, and a member of the department for 31 years. He doesn’t look too proud of the department’s new digs, does he?

 

West Natick Fire Station #4
West Natick Fire Station #4, seen here in July 2020, has been torn down. The building served the community since 1956. A community pocket park and shared bike path is being built on the site and will connect both the station and neighborhood to area amenities.

So that the others don’t feel left out

Natick has three additional fire stations: Station #1, the headquarters, is located in downtown Natick at 22 E. Central St.; Station #2 is at 2 Robert Sproule Ln. in South Natick; and Station #3 is at 2 Rhode Island Ave. in East Natick.

Natick Fire Dept. offering free CPR classes in July

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Natick Fire Department is offering two free CPR classes in June:

  • July 15th    CPR/AED     3:30 – 6:00 pm
  • July 22nd   CPR/AED     6:30 – 9:30 pm

The location is to be determined and will be emailed about one week ahead of the scheduled class time.  Email Firefighter Alan Gentile at agentile@natickma.org with the date of the class you would like to take.

natick fire station

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Natick Fire Department offering free CPR classes in June

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Natick Fire Department is offering two free CPR classes in June:

  • June 15th   CPR/AED    3:30 – 6:00 pm
  • June 23rd   CPR/AED    6:30 – 9:00 pm

The location is to be determined and will be emailed about one week ahead of the scheduled class time.  Email Firefighter Alan Gentile at agentile@natickma.org with the date of the class you would like to take.

natick fire station

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Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email