Next Friday, Feb. 26, Auburn Fire Chief Wayne Werts will retire after nine years as chief and 33 with the department. During that time, he held every rank in the department and hired 26 of the department’s 60 current firefighters during his nine years as chief.

He also came to know and respect former long-time Sun Journal reporter Edmund MacDonald, and his son, Peter, who often accompanied Ed to fires in Auburn and their hometown of Mechanic Falls as a teenager. Peter went on to serve 30 years on the Mechanic Falls Fire and Rescue squads, retiring in 2007.

Feeling that Chief Werts’ upcoming retirement signals the end of an era in Auburn firefighting, MacDonald offered to give Werts the Face Time treatment, firefighter to firefighter.

What’s the worst fire you ever went to while on duty? One that sticks out was a business on Turner Street. A dye plant. We had guys trapped upstairs. The guys were tossing things out windows to get our attention and indicate where they were. We were very lucky that night that no one was badly hurt.

What’s the worst fire you fought while not on duty, that you came in for? Spring Street, across from Hannaford. They were working on a car and some gas caught fire, catching (three) buildings on fire.

What’s the longest distance you traveled in response to a fire call? We got a call for a motorcycle accident on Riverside Drive (Route 136). We went all the way to the city line with Durham and found nothing. The dispatcher said they were still getting calls on it. To keep going. We found it just as we crossed into Freeport.

What’s been the biggest change in the fire service? It has to be the air packs. When I first started, the (air) bottles were 20-minute bottles. You were lucky if they lasted 10 minutes. They had no alarms to tell you when they were running low. Over the years, it went from 30- then 60-minute bottles, then alarms that went off if the firefighter was motionless for a certain amount of time. Now, with the newer packs, fire command can monitor the air level in each pack being used.

Anything you wanted to get done as chief but were unable to? A fire department ambulance service. It almost happened, but it just didn’t work out. There was money and a few other factors (that were challenges to the idea), and it fell through. But after that, we moved forward and created a public-private agreement with UAS (United Ambulance Service) that created a team approach to the delivery of EMS rather than a competitive one.

 Something significant that did happen: We received Homeland Security grants totaling $180,000. We bought new air packs, radios, computers for the trucks and a new command vehicle.

Who is the best all-time character you ever worked with? Ed Clark. We was such a storyteller. I’m not sure if they were all true or not, but he was funny. He’d walk around the station with a rag hanging out of his pocket to make it look like he was doing something when he was not. He drove everybody crazy, but he was a great guy.

Why did you become a firefighter? I was working as an EMT (emergency medical technician) with Allied Ambulance and went to a number of fire calls. I took an interest, and it’s history from there.

Looking out the window of your office overlooking the trucks, what do you see? That I’m going to miss it. I won’t be in my comfort zone, but it’s time. I am ready.

Did you ever think, during your career, that you’d be sitting in this office? No. When I was promoted to captain by Chief Smith I figured that was it. But when Chief Smith started talking about retirement, we had several conversations about the job, and here I sit.

There’s a tradition in the fire service; on the retirement of a firefighter, they take one last ride on a firetruck. Which truck? Engine 2 in New Auburn. I live in New Auburn and it’s my favorite station.