William Shute named interim fire chief

Mayor Donna D. Holaday last week announced that William F. Shute has been selected as the city’s interim fire chief. Shute comes to Newburyport with more than 30 years of experience in neighboring Amesbury, where he was a firefighter for 27 years before being promoted to fire chief in 2003. He retired from that position in 2008. Shute has a bachelor of science degree in fire science administration and has had training in officer management training, incident command systems, basic hazardous materials, and technical rescues. He also is a certified fire inspector and investigator. Shute, who is a member of various state and regional fire chiefs associations, will continue to serve as interim fire chief until Newburyport hires a permanent fire chief to replace Stephen Cutter, who retired Friday after 34 years with the Newburyport Fire Department.