CHICOPEE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Chicopee welcomed a new fire chief on Tuesday, a man who has been with the department for almost thirty years.

Matthew Cross joined the Chicopee Fire Department in 1996. He was formally sworn in Tuesday afternoon in front of his family, friends, and countless current and former members of Chicopee first responders.

His promotion was announced on May 20. Cross is taking over for Daniel Stamborski, who is retiring after 29 years of service in Chicopee emergency response and who had been the chief since 2019.

Stamborski launched the city’s lockbox program and recently upgraded equipment for emergency response vehicles.

Cross is a lifelong Chicopee resident and has risen through the ranks as lieutenant, captain, and deputy chief.

The department noted Cross’s leadership, especially during the COVID pandemic, where he served as the executive officer for more than two years.

He has also served on the fire service’s hazardous response team and as an instructor at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

During his speech, Cross noted that under his leadership, he wants the city’s firefighters to embrace innovation that can improve their chances at saving lives.

“We have battery-operated jaws of life now, extraction equipment. We have larger hose to carry the water, from the fire hydrants to our trucks,” he said. “We have thermal imagers now, which allows us to see heat signatures in the dark. We never had those when I first got on the job in 1996.”

Cross now takes control of a department with about 140 fulltime members.

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