MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR
Phillip Robinson CABOT FIRE CHIEF WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN JOB RESPONSIBILITIES?
Our mission statement at the Cabot Fire Department is to provide an umbrella of security for our citizens by minimizing the loss of life and property resulting from fires, medical and environmental emergencies, and other disasters. My main job responsibility is to make sure our firefighters have all they need to make this happen. They must have proper training, the best equipment I can provide, comfortable/workable facilities, clear guidelines, and support from our community and government officials. Additionally, I must provide our citizens with all they need to be as safe as possible with regard to fires and other hazards. That effort takes the form of prevention programs, and we have several available.
HOW WILL THE NEW FIRE STATION BENEFIT YOUR DEPARTMENT?
I am eternally grateful to our mayor for his determination to find a way to fund the station, and to our City Council members and citizens for fully supporting it. The building where we are currently housed was not built to be a fire station and has never had a good functional flow to it. At the new station, we will have a floor plan that allows for quick, clean, efficient egress for emergency calls and easy ingress when returning to the station. The drive-thru fire engine bay will do away with the need to back into the station off a state highway. Firefighters will also be much more comfortable with bright, new, updated quarters. It’s like remodeling a 1960s kitchen with today’s countertops, cabinets and LED lighting.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING FIRE CHIEF?
I answered a call a couple of years ago, and on the way from the apparatus to the scene, I overheard one of the victims of the incident say, “The Fire Department is here. It’s going to be OK.” My favorite part of being the fire chief is knowing that our citizens have that confidence that our firefighters can make a situation OK. I know that cannot happen every time, but it is amazing to watch our folks move in to a situation that is going all wrong and make it better in some way.