Election 2009: Malumphy Taking Unpaid Leave for Campaign

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayoral candidate Pam Malumphy will begin an unpaid leave of absence from her current role as regional director for the Massachusetts Office of Business Development beginning Wednesday, Aug. 19.
 
"I knew there was the possibility that I would be asked to take the leave and it made the difficult decision of running for mayor that much more heavy. Anyone who knows me, knows that I've worked since I was 17, working my way through college, through grad school, so the idea of not getting a paycheck for the next many weeks is a bit overwhelming."
 
Asked why she made the decision in spite of the hardship, Malumphy replied, "I suppose it's like sky-diving ... either you're going to do it and jump from that plane with your heart and soul ... or not."

With no conflicts with either the Ethics Commission or the Office of Campaign Finance, Malumphy understands perception ... in other words, how it looks. "I have loved my job ... working with and assisting businesses has been an incredible experience. However, I would never want anyone to believe I was using my position to advance my mayoral campaign," said Malumphy.
 
As the city is at a crossroads and facing serious issues of public safety, jobs, and renovating two existing high schools versus building one new high school, Malumphy took out her nomination papers to run for mayor of Pittsfield on July 15 and is officially on the ballot as of Aug. 18.

Submitted by the Campaign to Elect Pam Malumphy.

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State Fire Marshal: New Tracking Tool Identifies 50 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires

STOW, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services' new tool for tracking lithium-ion battery fires has helped to identify 50 such incidents in the past six months, more than double the annual average detected by a national fire data reporting system, said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine.
 
The Department of Fire Services launched its Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Investigative Checklist on Oct. 13, 2023. It immediately went into use by the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal's office, and local fire departments were urged to adopt it as well. 
 
Developed by the DFS Fire Safety Division, the checklist can be used by fire investigators to gather basic information about fires in which lithium-ion batteries played a part. That information is then entered into a database to identify patterns and trends.
 
"We knew anecdotally that lithium-ion batteries were involved in more fires than the existing data suggested," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "In just the past six months, investigators using this simple checklist have revealed many more incidents than we've seen in prior years."
 
Prior to the checklist, the state's fire service relied on battery fire data reported to the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System (MFIRS), a state-level tool that mirrors and feeds into the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). NFIRS tracks battery fires but does not specifically gather data on the types of batteries involved. Some fields do not require the detailed information that Massachusetts officials were seeking, and some fires may be coded according to the type of device involved rather than the type of battery. Moreover, MFIRS reports sometimes take weeks or months to be completed and uploaded.
 
"Investigators using the Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Checklist are getting us better data faster," said State Fire Marshal Davine. "The tool is helpful, but the people using it are the key to its success."
 
From 2019 to 2023, an average of 19.4 lithium-ion battery fires per year were reported to MFIRS – less than half the number identified by investigators using the checklist over the past six months. The increase since last fall could be due to the growing number of consumer devices powered by these batteries, increased attention by local fire investigators, or other factors, State Fire Marshal Davine said. For example, fires that started with another item but impinged upon a battery-powered device, causing it to go into thermal runaway, might not be categorized as a battery fire in MFIRS or NFIRS.
 
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