MA Man Becomes Firefighter Despite Age Limit

Jun. 20—NORTH ANDOVER — In 2020, 36-year-old Marcel Cuffy was working as a court officer in Lawrence when he decided to indulge a passion and take a class to become an EMT, a choice that would lead him to not one, but two new careers.

That class happened to be led by North Andover's EMS coordinator who introduced Cuffy to the possibility of being a firefighter/EMT, reigniting a lifelong curiosity.

"It sparked an interest that had been inside me throughout my life," Cuffy said.

Cuffy had previously been hesitant about pursuing the profession due to its challenges — including that North Andover has an upper age limit for firefighters that stipulates you must be 31 years old or younger on the day you first take the firefighter examination.

"The idea of the obstacles to pursue it kind of deterred my commitment to pursue the job," he said.

Yet, due to reasons involving the pandemic and a discussion with his family he decided to pursue the job. Thus, he alongside another North Andover resident named John R. Baker began the lengthy process of getting an age waiver passed.

"They told me about the form I needed to fill out and have residents fill out on my behalf, to sign it, to petition to go before the Select Board to get it approved, and then before the town at the yearly Town Meeting for the town to vote," he said.

The age waiver was passed by the Select Board and at the Town Meeting where Cuffy felt support from members of the community.

"The day I went to the Town Meeting, there was a woman who told me she literally brought her daughters just to vote for the one thing, because my wife had made a post on Facebook for people to come out and support," he said.

After the success at Town Meeting, the age waiver was passed on to the State House and former state Rep. Christina Minicucci became involved.

"When it goes to the House and the Senate, that can take some time, and that caused us to speak to the local Rep. at the time, Ms. Minicucci and she was very instrumental in helping us get the age waivers through the House and Senate," he said

The age waiver, known as SD2705, was then passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor in May 2022.

Cuffy went on to pass the firefighter examination in both 2022 and 2023 is now an EMT/firefighter on probation. He officially began his training as a firefighter on probation for the Town of North Andover on May 30.

As for others who are interested in pursuing a career as a firefighter over the age of 31, Cuffy says go for it.

"If it's a goal or a dream, I say pursue it. It's just never too late, as long as you prepare yourself physically and mentally, I believe it's possible," he said.

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