A home rule petition that would allow Tisbury firefighters to serve for a longer period of time has passed both chambers of the Massachusetts legislature, and now only needs the governor’s signature to become law. The petition requests the mandatory retirement age for Tisbury firefighters to be bumped up from 65 to 70 years old.
When informed about the development on Wednesday, Tisbury Fire Chief Greg Leland said it was “amazing.”
Chief Leland said the legislation should help his department with retention and with maintaining institutional knowledge. He said older firefighters have seen more fires, and have a lot to share.
“They have a wealth of knowledge that the younger generations just don’t have yet,” he said.
