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New Hampshire
Perry Plummer returns: Dover hires former fire chief on interim basis. Here’s why.
DOVER — Former Dover fire chief Perry Plummer has been tapped to serve as the city department’s interim leader as current Chief Michael McShane is away on extended family and medical leave, according to the city.
Plummer, a 25-year veteran of the Dover Fire Department, served as the city’s chief from 2002 until 2011. Appointed by City Manager Michael Joyal Jr., Plummer’s 10-week-long interim deal will be up for approval at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
Plummer, 65, would be paid $2,949.91 by the city for working 39 hours each week, per the terms of his deal. The former chief’s first day back overseeing the station was last Monday, July 15.
“Some days it feels like I never left, and other days it’s like I’ve never been here,” Plummer said of the Dover Fire Department. “But everyone has been fantastic. It’s like coming home for me after all this time.”
Plummer’s second chapter leading Dover fire crews is now his third time leading a New Hampshire municipal fire department on an interim basis. His recent stints with local departments includes a brief stop in Rochester before the city hired Dennis Dube as its chief, in addition to leading the Salem Fire Department for a time.
This instance is different, as Plummer stepped in after the former fire chiefs in Rochester and Salem retired, while McShane will return from his extended leave.
Upon McShane’s return, Plummer will revert back to retirement, a stage of life he admittedly hasn’t fully committed to in recent years.
“Obviously it’s an honor to come in and be able to help the department I love and provide some assistance to Chief McShane and his department,” Plummer said Monday. “It’s an honor to be asked to lead departments of such high quality, whether it’s Dover, Rochester or Salem.”
The interim chief’s new Dover contract notes he won’t be eligible for paid leave or paid time off for holidays, nor will he accrue it, while he is employed by the city.
The Dover resident’s career in the city firefighting force began in 1986. He left the department in 2011 to lead the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Fire Standards and Training and Emergency Medical Services. Plummer in 2012 became the director of the state’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management agency and then worked as assistant commissioner at the state Department of Safety.
Plummer stayed busy after that, helping lead New Hampshire’s efforts to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to residents.
McShane began working with Dover Fire & Rescue in 2005, hired by none other than Plummer. McShane has served as the city’s fire chief and emergency management director since the winter of 2022.
The city’s interim fire chief expects to remain with the Dover department for a few weeks following McShane’s return.
“This is really where I feel most comfortable,” Plummer said.
Plummer’s appointment as interim chief and McShane’s extended leave of absence coincides with the previously-planned retirement of assistant fire chief David Hanna this month, according to the city.
Authorities have captured the inmate who escaped from a New Hampshire hospital Wednesday morning.
John Pownall escaped from Exeter Hospital around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday morning despite the 57-year-old’s court order to remain at the facility until medically able to return to the Rockingham County Jail, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff’s office.
Authorities say 36-year-old Ashley Gustafson helped Pownall escape from the hospital and field in a white KIA sedan with a New Hampshire license plate.
Police say Pownall removed his ankle monitoring device in a CVS parking lot in Stratham, New Hampshire.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Boston 25 that both Pownall and Gustafson were located by Dover, NH police.
Additional details on their capture were not available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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Local News
John Pownall, 57, was being held at the hospital until he was stable enough to return to jail.
John Pownall, 57,
and 36-year-old Ashley Gustafson Rockingham Sheriff’s Office
New Hampshire authorities are asking for the public’s help locating an incarcerated man they said escaped from Exeter Hospital on Wednesday.
John Pownall, 57, was being held at the hospital under a court order to remain there until he was medically able to return to the Rockingham County Jail, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s office said in a statement. He fled the hospital around 10:40 with Ashley Gustafson, 36, police said.
Authorities said the pair fled in a white KIA four-door sedan with a New Hampshire license plate. A short time after leaving the hospital, police said, Gustafson helped Pownall remove his ankle bracelet in the parking lot of a CVS in nearby Stratham, New Hampshire.
Major Christopher Bashaw, of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, said Pownall was arrested on Friday for driving with a suspended license and was then sent to the hospital for medical treatment, according to WHDH.
Members of the public should not attempt to approach either Pownall or Gustafson, the sheriff’s office said.
Both Pownall and Gustafson have active arrest warrants, according to WHDH.
“This person does have a lengthy criminal history,” Bashaw said, according to the station. “A lot of it is geared towards substance abuse, as well as driving infractions.”
Anyone with information about Pownall or Gustafson is encouraged to contact police at (603) 679-2225 or reach out to local police.
New Hampshire
Any driver pulled over on I-95 during holidays in New Hampshire will be ticketed, N.H. Gov. says
Local News
There will be a “zero tolerance zone” in the I-95 corridor in New Hampshire through the holiday season, Gov. Chris Sununu said.
New Hampshire State Police will give a ticket to any driver pulled over on I-95 starting Tuesday in an effort to crack down on drunk and distracted driving this Thanksgiving, the governor said.
Governor Chris Sununu said there will be a “zero tolerance zone” in the I-95 corridor from Seabrook to Portsmouth, which covers the length of the interstate in New Hampshire.
“If you get pulled over, you are getting a ticket,” Sununu said. “We want that enforcement to be strong. We want the visibility to be out there, and we want everybody to take their role and responsibility in ensuring that not just them and their families, but their kids and their neighbors and even the strangers that pass them on the road, everybody needs to get where they need to be safe.”
Sununu said the zero tolerance zone will continue “through the holiday season.” Officials noted that Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is sometimes known as Blackout Wednesday or Drinksgiving.
“If you’re gonna go out and celebrate, make a plan before you even have one drink,” said New Hampshire State Police Lieutenant Christopher Storm. “Designate a sober driver to get you home safely. If you wait until you’ve had a drink, you may make not the best decision.”
New Hampshire, like other New England states, have seen an increase in traffic fatalities. Sununu said at a press conference there is a 200 percent increase in young driver fatalities compared to this time last year.
Storm said that of last weekend, traffic deaths in New Hampshire are tied with last year’s total of 127 with still a month to go.
“We are announcing additional enforcement efforts, increased patrols statewide, around the clock, through the holiday season,” Storm said. “Drivers take note if you’re excessively speeding, driving recklessly or impaired on our roads, you will face consequences.”
State troopers from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine all joined Sununu on Tuesday and said their agencies will also increase patrols on their roads.
“While we may be in New Hampshire today, we are New England, and so that means when it comes to travel safety, we are all in it together,” Sununu said.
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