For Immediate Release

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-9003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Shrewsbury Fire Captain Graduates from Chief Fire Officer Program

SHREWSBURY — Chief James Vuona is pleased to announce that Shrewsbury Fire Capt. Sean T. Lawlor graduated from the 2018 Chief Fire Officer Program this morning.

Capt. Lawlor was honored during a ceremony at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow at 10 a.m. surrounded by his family and colleagues.

The CFO program is presented by the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management, and is designed to provide the leadership and management skills essential for municipal management positions.

“We are incredibly proud of Capt. Lawlor for completing this highly demanding course all while continuing his many duties here with the fire department,” Chief Vuona said. “The selection process for this program is extremely competitive, and I know the skills he gained will serve our department and community well.”

The intensive high-level course requires 112 hours of classroom training, where students must have 100 percent attendance, as well as considerable out-of-class reading and research preparation, including an applied research paper and practicing public speaking skills.

Topics covered throughout the course include leadership, administrative structure, communication skills, budget and financial skills, supervision and management, human resource management, community and intergovernmental relations, emergency management, logic, ethics and decision making, comprehensive safety and health programs, fire and life safety programs, and organizational and strategic planning.

Capt. Lawlor is an 18-year veteran of the Shrewsbury Fire Department and was promoted to the rank of captain in 2013. He has a master’s degree in public administration from Anna Maria College and a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and kinesiology from Bridgewater State College.

Capt. Lawlor currently serves as Shrewsbury’s Assistant Fire Prevention Officer and is the Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) program administrator and liaison for education and safety for the Shrewsbury School District.

Additionally, he is a member of the Fire Prevention Association of Massachusetts and the state’s S.A.F.E. Task Force. Capt. Lawlor has also attended numerous other educational classes on topics including fire administration, fire and life safety education, fire prevention and code enforcement, substance abuse and suicide prevention in the fire service, and human resource management dealing with ethical and cognitive behaviors.

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