After more than two years fighting fires in New Hampshire, Pelham Fire Chief Michael Walker may be heading south to take up the top position with the fire department in Middleborough, Mass.

Walker – out on medical leave waiting for an injured knee to heal – said he had been encouraged by a peer who thought he would be a good fit to apply for the position. After submitting a resume and doing an interview, he found himself one of five finalists for the position of fire chief in Middleborough. The group also includes former Londonderry Fire Chief Michael Carrier.

“It was just an opportunity and a door that opened, and one of my peers told me about it, and I jumped at the opportunity,” Walker said.

Middleborough – located on the south shore of Massachusetts – has been without a chief for the fire department for a year and a half. In the interim, Middleborough’s Police Chief Gary Russell has been managing both departments.

With three stations, 30 firefighters and another 14 on-call firefighters, Walker said taking up the position in Middleborough would mean having more responsibility over a larger organization than he currently has in Pelham.

“The advantage is that it’s a larger fire department and there’s more staff. They have the community that’s developing and the possibility of community development that sounds interesting,” Walker said.

He said he would also look forward to taking more of an administrative role in the Middleborough Fire Department.

Plans to build a $1 million casino in the town proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe played a factor in Walker’s interest, but only on the fire prevention and emergency response end of things, he said.

“It’s not the casino itself, but it’s those things that affect the fire department – the fire protection for the casino, medical responses, disaster responses,” he said. “Anytime you have a niche like that, it causes you to have to rethink your fire services.”

According to Middleborough’s Town Manager Charles Coristelol, the five finalists will be interviewed by the board on Sunday, Nov. 2. After that, the timeline for the hiring process is undefined, he said.

Chief Tom McPherson of the abutting Windham Fire Department, who has worked closely with both Walker and his department in the past, described Walker as a “great asset.”

“We’ve worked with him several times,” McPherson said. “He’s a person who is generally interested in the fire service. I’ve enjoyed working with him so far and I wish him well if he gets the position and, if not, I look forward to continuing our working relationship.”

Walker, a native of upstate New York who spent two-and-a-half years in Fort Madison, Iowa, before coming back east to be closer to family, said he was in no rush to leave New Hampshire.

“I’m not desperate to leave Pelham,” he said. “I’m just content. It’s cool to walk around Pelham and be the fire chief. We have some really great people.”