Get To Know Captain Joseph Fournier

Captain Joseph Fournier has a simple approach to leadership in the Fire Department: serve the mission, the public, and the people who work in the firehouse.

Inspired by Peter Blaber’s book “The Mission, The Men, and Me,” which Fournier read when he first became a lieutenant, this mindset guides him as he prioritizes the needs of the department and the public over his own.

“The mission comes first.  We’re a fire department where we need to be trained, we need to be ready, we need to do everything so that when that tone hits, we’re prepared for the call,” Fournier said. “After that, I serve the men and women that work in the firehouse and I make sure the conditions are good for them, that I set them up for success, that their needs are met … so that they are ready to serve the public because the public comes first.”

As a fourth-generation Cambridge firefighter in his family, Fournier has understood the importance of this work from a young age. He is the sixth firefighter in his family, and there has continuously been a member of his family with the department since his great-grandfather was hired in 1923.

“Cambridge is special to me because I was born and raised here,” Fournier said. “I remember being a young kid, like my son’s age, and coming up here [the Porter Square Firehouse] and visiting my uncle and seeing the guys and having dessert with them after dinner. And I found out my grandfather retired out of this house.”

Initially, Fournier went to school for engineering and saw firefighting as more of a backup plan. Yet, partway through college, he began to think seriously about a career in firefighting.

“About sophomore or junior year, I had a change of heart and pursued this from then on,” Fournier said. “I continued on that [engineering] path because, with my family being on, they were like, ‘Do what you’re doing because it’s going to help you when you get on with tech rescue and all sorts of stuff that we do, having the science background, the chemistry, the biology, the physics.’ And it has been invaluable.”

After college, Fournier joined the military, which he described as one of many different paths prospective firefighters may take. He says his service as a firefighter in the Air Force provided valuable preparation for when he later joined the fire department.

“I was guided into that pathway because of certifications and training,” he said. “So when I got out of the military and joined here, I was well on my way and certified to do a lot of different things.”

Part of what Fournier enjoys most about firefighting is its hands-on nature, noting how he is almost always out in the field or training. In addition, he loves how variable every day on the job is.

“Every single day in the firehouse is different. Every call we go on is different. And you never know, one minute we could be sitting here having this conversation, and the next minute I could be like I was two weeks ago in Revere at a four-alarm fire. Or I could be on the dive team here underwater in the Charles River for a search and rescue there,” Fournier said. “Every once in a while, you look up and realize, ‘I didn’t think I was going to be doing this today.’ That’s enjoyable.”

Additionally, Fournier emphasizes the importance of community engagement as a firefighter, saying it is critical to maintaining a positive and trusting relationship between the department and the public.

“I believe wholeheartedly that the fire department is a community service organization and should be community-centric,” he said. “When the tones go off and we end up at someone’s house, the more trust that they have in us, the better things are going to be all the way around. And it’s up to us to build that trust.”

From “touch a truck” days to trick-or-treating at the firehouse on Halloween, Fournier believes in opening the doors of the station to the community. Since becoming a captain, he has hosted the “Porter Square Firehouse Family Open House,” where members of the public can enjoy food, meet firefighters and their families, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on inside the firehouse, including upstairs, where the public is typically not permitted. In addition to food, there are games, sidewalk chalk, and activities for kids. The event is typically held on a Sunday in September.

“What I’ve found through my years here is that a lot of the public doesn’t really know everything we do and respond to or how we prepare for and then do the work,” Fournier said. “The cookout helps to bridge that gap and gives insight and context as to the amount of training our firefighters undergo, the extensive knowledge base they have, and what goes on in this important building where there’s a ton of activity on a daily basis but a lot of it goes unseen. It builds trust and pride in us and the neighborhood in both directions.”

Fournier says that the wonderful crew and captains he had when he first joined the department are an inspiration to his leadership today, and he carries his love for the department and for firefighting with him each day on the job.

“I’m very fortunate. I really love coming to work every day. I love the men and women I work with. I love doing this job, and there’s really nowhere else I’d rather be,” Fournier said.