By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Paul LeClair said he’s been preparing himself for the city fire chief’s job for the last 11 years.

LeClair was sworn in by City Clerk Kathy Montejo at the Lewiston City Council meeting Tuesday night. He officially took over from Michel Lajoie on March 1.

“He pretty much learned the job right along with me,” Lajoie said. “We really kind of learned it together.”

Lajoie became chief in 1994, after both the fire chief and his assistant stepped down at the same time. That left two openings at the top, filled first by Lajoie and then LeClair.

“We really had to learn all of it on our own,” Lajoie said. “It was a pretty steep learning curve.”

That’s when LeClair first began thinking about moving up. LeClair came to the Lewiston Fire Department in 1981 as a firefighter. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1993 and then to assistant chief in 1994.

His duties included coaching and directing firefighter skills training, administering safety programs, preparing and delivering training programs, and managing grants for Homeland Security money. He has also served as president of the Lewiston Firefighters Association, Local 785.

LeClair said he doesn’t plan big changes for the department. He’ll continue pushing health and fitness efforts for firefighters and work to purchase a new ladder truck for the department. He’s currently working on the department’s budget for the coming year.

“There’s not much I feel needs to be changed,” he said. “So this is really an opportunity to continue the work we’ve been doing for the last few years.”

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