Springfield, MA, Fire Dept. Repair Chief Closes Toolbox after 39 Years

SPRINGFIELD — Stephen Balboni has done everything from repairing ladder trucks and chainsaws to maintaining air tanks and ordering toilet paper for the Fire Department.

“We are the backbone of the department,” he said. “We are the jack of all trades.”

On Friday, after nearly 39 years on the job, Balboni retired as repair supervisor of the fire department. He expected his exit to be low-key, but dozens of his coworkers and family and friends threw him a surprise celebration that included Mayor Domenic J. Sarno presenting him with a proclamation to thank him for all his years of service.

Balboni, 63, admitted he has mixed feelings about leaving the job he has always enjoyed and the friends he has made across the department.

“One is I’ve had enough. You feel that,” he said. “I’m kind of anxious about it too because it has been almost 40 years I’ve been coming here … I’ll really miss the guys that I work with.”

Balboni said he always liked working on cars and motorcycles, so he decided to study automotive technology at what is now known as Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy when he reached high school.

After graduation, he started working on diesel equipment at trucking outfits and bus companies, including Peter Pan Bus Lines. Then in the 1980s, he learned about an opening at the Fire Department from his father-in-law, who was a district chief. He applied and was hired as a mechanic by the now-defunct Fire Commission.

He started as a mechanic, eventually was promoted to shop foreman, and in 2004, became the repair supervisor. His second in command Anthony Cassesse will take over as supervisor Monday.

“It has been a very good career,” Balboni said.

When he first started, Balboni said he was surprised at how “primitive” the garage was. The shop lacked modern tools, and mechanics were not following standard safety protocols, but that changed quickly.

“It has grown over the years to what we have to handle. Mainly, if things have to get done and there is someone who knows how to do it, they call that person all the time,” he said, referring to the repair department.

The Fire Department garage, which has seven employees, is the third-largest of its kind in the state, and mechanics maintain and repair more than 75 different pieces of equipment ranging from ladder trucks and generators to trailers and SUVs.

And the vehicles have become much more sophisticated with the addition of more electronics and computer components. Because of that, mechanics with knowledge about troubleshooting electrical problems are vital for the shop.

Being a firefighter mechanic is unique, and Balboni said he has always enjoyed the fact the job comes with a lot of variety. Mechanics respond to major fires. Because of that, he knows people across the department and has made tons of friends over the years.

The comradery wasn’t always there, with firefighters in years past questioning why mechanics were in the union, but that long has changed.

“It’s a family atmosphere,” Balboni said. In most cases, firefighters are close to the people they work with on their shift and the fire station where they are assigned, but the mechanics know everyone.

The mechanics also always try to accommodate firefighters, making changes or adding features in their trucks that make it easier to do their jobs.

“Two biggest things they use (at a fire) are air tanks and chainsaws,” he said. “Firemen are well known for losing and breaking everything. … There are all kinds of stories; they are rough on the equipment.”

The department agreed on a rule that calls for every chainsaw or vent saw to be turned in for servicing every time it is used to ensure it is ready for the next fire.

One other thing that has changed over the years is the difficulty of finding skilled mechanics. When Balboni was hired, there were multiple applicants for each position. Now the department scrambles to find skilled people.

One of the barriers is the requirement that all employees must live in Springfield, since people who are already settled into a home don’t want to move from a town or two away to take a job.

That difficulty made Balboni create a co-op partnership with his alma mater. Currently, the garage has three automotive students from Putnam working there. It has hired a few permanently, including one who was kept on as a part-time intern after he graduated to allow him to go to Springfield Technical Community College so he could study automotive mechanics there, he said.

Balboni said he hopes people have seen him as a good boss. He said he always tried to make sure work got done, his employees had what they needed to do their jobs while trying not to micromanage.

The one thing to be sure of is after retirement Balboni won’t be bored. For years he has had his own motorcycle shop on the side repairing all types of bikes, especially dirt bikes, and he will keep that going. It just means he can do the work during the day instead of at night and on weekends.

He will also have more time to spend with his wife Ann and four grandchildren, including his two granddaughters, now 11 and 13, who are taking up motocross racing. His youngest grandson, 9, is also showing an interest in the sport.

Racing has been a life-long hobby for Balboni, who first got involved through stock car competitions at Agawam’s Riverside Amusement Park, which is now Six Flags.

That evolved into an interest in dirt bike racing, which came when he brought his two daughters, Stephanie and Nichol, to watch motocross racing in Southwick. The two asked if they could learn and it created a family hobby.

At the time, there were few girls competing. While girls remain the minority in the sport, his granddaughters are not alone on the track.

“Good people are involved in that. It keeps your kids away from people you don’t want them with,” he said. “I have a lot of friends that do it.”

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