Boston reactivates Fire District 10, promotes 14 officers after 12-year absence

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston Fire Department reactivates District 10, ending a 12-year coverage gap in West Roxbury. Fire Commissioner John Jamse officially restored the district — covering West Roxbury and portions of Hyde Park and Roslindale — at a July 22 ceremony, citing the need for faster command-level response in a neighborhood near a major gas pipeline and concentrated senior housing. The department promoted four new District Chiefs — Jonathan Ronzio, Mark Loschiavo, Kevin Meehan, and Mark Miller — triggering a cascade of 10 additional promotions through the captain and lieutenant ranks, for 14 total officers sworn in. Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who disclosed she has personally survived a residential fire, and City Councilor-at-Large Michael Flaherty, whose family includes multiple active and retired department members, were credited with driving the restoration. Flaherty publicly pressed for a second restoration — District 5 — warning that expiring civil service lists would soon close the window for what he called a chance to significantly diversify the upper ranks of department leadership. Local 718 President John Soares noted that a recent VFW Parkway fire had required a District 12 chief to travel from Roslindale, leaving a firefighter trapped on a second floor to be rescued by painter's ladder before command arrived.