Fire chiefs replacement SUV still in limbo

New details have emerged about Wareham Fire Chief John Kelley's totaled work SUV and its replacement.

According to Acting Chief Mark Rogers and Assistant Chief Patrick Haksell, the handle of a fire extinguisher in the vehicle hit a wall and dispersed in the trunk of the vehicle while on route to a maintenance appointment in late May 2025. 

The corrosive foam was immediately cleaned from the interior. The pair had the car sent off to a detailer within an hour of the incident and returned it twice more to ensure it was entirely clean. 

"When it came back, it was satisfactory," Rogers said.

Kelley, who sustained an injury during a mutual aid response and was on medical leave at the time of the extinguisher accident, returned back to work in the summer of 2025. According to Rogers and Haskell, he shared different opinions on the status of his SUV. 

"He noticed some screwheads rusting and there were some other small issues. He decided to go down the road of insurance and he worked with an adjuster," Haskell said. 

That adjuster deemed the vehicle "totaled," giving the district a payout of $91,052.44 in December 2025. The SUV was originally part of a two-vehicle purchase of $109, 631.30 in March 2024.

However, the insurance adjuster was involved without Rogers and Haskell's knowledge. They said they first learned of the claim at a Wareham Fire District Prudential Committee meeting Thursday, Feb. 19. 

The Wareham Fire District Prudential Committee is an elected board that oversees the Wareham Fire District.

"We knew nothing about it," Haskell said. "The board knew nothing about it, and then the car was totaled." 

In December 2025, while on a medical leave for the second time in one year, Kelley ordered a replacement — outfitted with fire-related equipment — with the payout for the original vehicle. This came after the Wareham Fire District Prudential Committee told him to “take care of it,” according to prudential committee Chair Dean Decas at the Thursday meeting of the Wareham Fire District Board of Engineers.

The Board of Engineers, which works with the fire chief to oversee the department’s policies, budgets and personnel, did not sign off on the purchase of a replacement vehicle for Kelley due to claims he did not follow proper purchase procedures.

The board must sign off on purchases made within the company, including the new SUV Kelley ordered. 

The new vehicle Kelley ordered cost $55,420.65 before any addition of fire related equipment. According to Rogers, that order was made without informing the Board of Engineers. 

"We (Board of Engineers) do have a policy in the department that when you're on injury leave that there is no work. Obviously he (Kelley) answers directly to them (Prudential Committee), but we have that policy," Rogers said. 

The SUV is complete and outfitted with necessary fire equipment, but cannot be bought until the Board of Engineers signs off on a purchase agreement. Currently, the $91,052.44 insurance payout is sitting in an account and cannot be touched until the issue with the order is sorted. 

"I haven't been given any other information regarding the car. I assume the issue has got to come up at a Prudential Committee meeting at some point," Haskell said. 

For the pair, they said the reasoning they aren't signing the purchase agreement all comes down to following policy. 

"Everybody below us has to follow the same policy and the fact that the policy wasn't followed puts us in this position," Haskell said. "The chief signed that policy. We need to follow that policy and the chief is no different than the rest of us." 

Decas said at the Thursday, Feb. 19 Board of Engineers meeting involving lawyers and purchasing a new vehicle will cost the fire district more money if the board will not sign the purchase order.