CANAAN — After over a year of part-time interim chiefs, the fire department and emergency medical services are hoping that a Town Meeting warrant article will bring stability in leadership.

If approved, Article 33 would give the Selectboard the power to appoint a fire chief. Currently, firefighters vote to pick a chief and pass on their recommendation to the Selectboard, which must sign off on the choice.

But that process isn’t in line with state law.

“The fire chief should be appointed by the local governing body,” Chris Olsen, Canaan’s interim emergency medical services chief, said in a phone interview. “That is the norm. It’s what everyone’s going towards.”

Canaan has been without a permanent chief since longtime resident John Hennessy resigned from the post in January 2024.

Hennessy also headed the ambulance service and was the emergency management director and building inspector.

Since Hennessy stepped down, the Selectboard and firefighters have been at odds over naming a permanent replacement.

Last June, firefighters voted unanimously to promote Hue Wetherbee, the department’s third-in-command, to the top post.

But when the Selectboard offered Wetherbee the position only on a part-time basis, he declined.

“The Selectboard has been very reluctant to make the chief one budget line and to make it a full-time position,” Bill Bellion, first assistant fire chief, said in a phone interview.

Selectboard Chairman Stephen Freese and member Sadie Wells did not respond to requests for comment. When reached by phone on Thursday, board member Scott Johnston declined to comment.

The three board members did vote to support the Town Meeting warrant article, according to the minutes of the Jan. 15 meeting.

The Fire Department and emergency medical service members voted unanimously — with about 90% of both departments present — in favor of putting forth the article in hopes that it will be the first step in hiring a full-time, permanent head that oversees both departments.

“We are running over 1,200 calls a year, so we really need somebody to keep an eye on things and keep things coordinated and moving,” Bellion said. “Having a full-time chief will provide continuity and better service.”

Currently, there are only three full-time employees between both fire and medical services. All three are technically part of the ambulance service, but are also trained in firefighting. The remaining 40 or so are on-call members, and the majority of them have day jobs.

“In this day and age, just hoping that people will be around to volunteer and leave their other job to respond to an emergency is very hard,” Bellion said.

In order to find somebody qualified to lead both branches of the emergency response team, a candidate from outside of the department must be hired, another reason to change the current system for appointing a chief.

“We want someone who has more professional training than the rest of us have gotten a chance to get,” Bellion said.

If the article passes, a hiring committee, which will include representatives from the fire department, ambulance service, Selectboard and a chief from a neighboring town’s department, will begin the search with a goal of hiring someone this spring, Bellion said.

“It has to be a cooperative effort,” Bellion said.

Ballot voting on Canaan Town Meeting articles will take place March 11, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Canaan fire station located at 62 Route 118.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.