Randolph Fire Department Appoints Longtime Firefighter Paul Frew as New Operations Chief

RANDOLPH — The Randolph Fire Department is pleased to announce Paul Frew, a longtime Randolph firefighter, as its new chief of operations.

Chief Frew was appointed to the position by Town Manager Brian Howard on Jan. 1.

The chief of operations handles the department’s day-to-day operations and is also responsible for supervising and directing the department’s training programs.

“We are pleased to announce the promotion of Chief Frew,” said Randolph Fire Chief Ronald Cassford. “He is a dedicated member of the department and the community, and his experience will be a benefit in his new position.”

Chief Frew joined the department as an on-call firefighter in 1994 and was hired as a full-time firefighter in November 1998. He was promoted to lieutenant in 2008 and captain in 2012.

Frew served as a captain at Station 2 since 2018 and was also one of the department’s training officers.

He is a second-generation member of the department. His father, Al, was a Randolph firefighter for 35 years.

Frew has received his fire chief credentialing status, certifying his expertise and experience, from the state Fire Service Commission. He also is a graduate of the state’s Chief Fire Officer Program.

Chief Frew has worked with town departments on several initiatives, including managing code and compliance issues. He has been tasked with leading several acquisition projects for the fire department, including the design of its new forestry truck for which he helped to prepare a successful $250,000 grant application from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

As part of the search for a new chief of operations, Town Manager Howard convened a three-member Chief Interview Committee composed of three area fire chiefs. Five candidates were interviewed by the committee and Frew was ultimately selected for the position.

“We had tremendous candidates to choose from during the search process. Chief Frew scored highest from the committee that conducted the interviews and will be a great fit for the role,” Town Manager Howard said. “He has tremendous firefighting experience, as well as administrative and officer leadership experience developed through the fire department roles he has held. He has over two decades of service and dedication to the Randolph Fire Department, and I look forward to his continued commitment to the Randolph community as chief of operations.”

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