CARMEL, Maine — Carmel is searching for a new fire chief, a town official said this week.
Town Manager Tom Richmond said Wednesday that the fire chief opening has been posted internally at the fire station and that the Board of Selectmen could fill the position as early as this month.
The post opened up earlier this week when selectmen and Walter Hall, who had been serving as the volunteer fire department’s acting chief since July, mutually agreed that the town needed a chief who has more time available to put into the job, Richmond said, noting that Hall has a full-time job.
Hall, who was appointed Carmel Fire and Rescue’s chief of emergency medical services in June 2010, succeeded Mike Azevedo, who was dismissed from the chief position on July 21 after having served in that capacity for six of the 10 years he had been a member.
The annual stipend for the chief position is $5,000, Richmond said earlier.
As it stands, Carmel Fire and Rescue has only one full-time firefighter-emergency medical technician, a position funded by a two-year $87,325 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Azevedo and Richmond said earlier.
Carmel Fire and Rescue, which has an annual budget of $103,000, has about 30 volunteer members, most of whom have full-time jobs, which can be a problem during the daytime, when many are not available to be called to emergencies, a common problem among rural communities.
Richmond said in August that the town is seeking volunteers for its ambulance service.