We invite you to learn a little about the people in our community in our occasional series “Meet a Neighbor.” In each of these posts, we profile someone who lives or works in Amherst by sharing their responses to our 20-ish questions, both serious and fun. This week: meet Lindsay Stromgren.

Lindsay Stromgren has served in the Amherst Fire Department for more than 42 years, as a student firefighter, a professional firefighter/EMT, captain, assistant chief, and, since January, as Chief.

Stromgren began his work with the Amherst Fire Department as a volunteer member of the Student Force during his first year at the University of Massachusetts. Upon graduating from the University, he transitioned to the part-time Call Force, then became a full-time Career Firefighter/EMT in 1991. After being promoted to Captain in 1998, Stromgren spent the last twenty-two years as the Assistant Chief for Operations and Training.

Stromgren was appointed Chief in December 2024 and sworn in at a ceremony at North Fire Station in January.

About Stromgren’s appointment, Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman said he “brings extensive professional firefighting experience in both operations and administration; advanced educational training in fire science; and a strong commitment to maintaining high quality services and aligning the department with the needs, goals, and desires of the Town of Amherst.”

A graduate of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School, Stromgren earned an associate’s degree from Greenfield Community College in Fire Science Technology and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Geography and in Fire Science Administration. He has obtained his Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Certification from the National Fire Academy and is a Massachusetts Credentialed Fire Chief through a program at the Massachusetts Fire Academy. He also recently completed the staff and command leadership program at the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute.

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Full name:

Lindsay Eric Stromgren

Nickname:

Nergmorts (look at it closely)

Years living or working in Amherst:

My entire life – I’m a “Cooley baby.”  I’m a graduate of ARHS and UMass.

Job/What keeps you busy most days?

Things that were not on my “To-Do” list the day before!  Seriously though it’s all about making sure our team has what they need in order to do their job to serve the public – budgets/planning/etc 

Hobbies:

SCUBA Diving

Book you’d recommend to a friend:

“Last Call, The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.”

Last show or movie you streamed:

“Latitude Zero.”  A pretty bad ‘60s Sci-Fi movie.  My son and I are working our way through retro Sci-Fi movies, the good and the bad.

Five things you wouldn’t want to live without:

Family, friends, good health, seafood, Single Malt Scotch.

Top of your bucket list:

Take a cruise!

Life-changing experience:

Living and going to school in England in 3rd and 10th grade.  My father took his sabbaticals from Umass there to do research. As a kid I hated it initially at the time, but in retrospect it was life changing.  I have some very fond memories, and in fact became a UK citizen two years ago. 

First job:

Leonards’ Eggs – collecting about 8,000 eggs daily after school.  Dirty and smelly work. My mother made me undress in the basement before showering.

A hidden talent or little-known fact about you:

I took ballet in middle and high school (Amherst Ballet Center) and performed locally in some shows (Pioneer Valley Ballet Guild).

Dumbest thing you ever did:

Take a taxi ride from Hartford bus station to Amherst at midnight during a snowstorm.

One trend you’d like to see return:

Dressing up for functions, dinners, etc.

If you could have dinner with any 3 people, alive or dead, who would you invite?

Nikola Tesla, Helen Mirren, someone from 100 years from now.

Best (or worst) advice you ever got?

Best = “What matters to you today you may not care about at all tomorrow.”

Most used emoji? 😉

Favorite place to get a bite:

Any pub or cafe in England that serves genuine British bangers.

3 favorite foods?

Oysters, Lamb, Nachos

What gives you the creeps?

Snakes

Who do you most admire?

People who can keep calm in stressful situations.

Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight, or night?

Sunrise (love going to the solstice sunrises at the UMass sunwheel – visited Stonehenge once on the summer solstice).

What would you like to be known/remembered for?

Being an empathetic and compassionate person.

Which song can you listen to all day long?

“Convoy” by C.W. McCall.  It tells a story.  I was a CB’er in middle school and went on to HAM radio in high school.  I still have my license (and CB and HAM radios!).

What was your favorite game to play as a child?

4-square at Fort River School.