Fort Fairfield combining role of fire, police chief
FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Following the lead of other communities who’ve restructured existing departments and combined duties, Fort Fairfield officials have decided to blend the roles of chief for fire and police into one.
The decision resulted after an exhaustive nationwide search failed to produce the desired result. Town Manager Michael Bosse, on behalf of the review committee and the Town Council, announced Monday an innovative plan that shares responsibilities to lead the town’s fire department, utilizing existing staff and drawing upon their extensive experience and abilities.
Members of the fire department, along with the search committee responsible for seeking a qualified fire chief, worked to formulate this arrangement — always with an eye towards public safety. This new model provides full-time fire coverage during the weekday, daytime hours when volunteers are more scarce due to their regular work commitments.
The plan calls for current Fort Fairfield Police Chief Bill Campbell to oversee all the town’s emergency response services as the new director of public safety. Campbell will work closely with leadership within the fire department to help coordinate the day-to-day and emergency response duties of the fire department.
Two current members of the FFFD, Captains Darryl Doughty and Jeff Leighton, will be promoted to serve as assistant chiefs, with both using their expertise to coordinate coverage schedules, handle business operations, training, payroll and to ensure adequate resources and manpower are in place at all times to protect residents and property.
It is expected that this new arrangement will not impact the town’s budget negatively, and will provide some savings that will be redirected to purchase equipment for the department. The town has also made arrangements to have Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi provide guidance and support for grant writing and training on an as-needed basis.
The change in title for Chief Campbell will be presented to the Town Council for a ratification vote at their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 15, at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
“When we weighed all our options, this approach made the most sense, both for continuity and from a financial perspective,” said Bosse. “Chief Campbell is a good manager of people but understands there will be some firefighter training in his future. Bill is willing to do whatever he needs to make the new position work for the community. The lead officers of the FFFD have also committed to make this new setup function to the benefit of Fort Fairfield. A big factor that weighed in was the need to update our aging firefighter gear. This change will make room in the budget to afford much-needed safety gear for our existing and future firefighters.”
Prior to becoming Fort Fairfield’s chief of police, Campbell served with the Presque Isle Police Department, and also was an agent with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
For more information, call Campbell at 472-3809 or email bcampbell@fortfairfield.org, or call Bosse at 472-3800 or email mbosse@fortfairfield.org.
