DIXFIELD — Scott Dennett, chief of Dixfield Fire Company since 2006, has been selected as Maine’s Fire Chief of the Year.

The presentation was made March 25 at the meeting of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association. He was nominated by Town Manager Alicia Conn.

Dennett said he was quite surprised by the award.

“I didn’t expect that at all. That was a huge surprise,” he said. “It’s certainly quite an honor.”

After almost 39 years in the fire service, the chief said the best part of firefighting for him is “the ability to try to help somebody on their worst day.”

“They’re experiencing something of a dramatic event, whether it be a fire, a car accident, or something as simple as a fall and they need assistance to get out of a situation,” he said.

Dennett said sometimes firefighters end up helping somebody they know.

“That can make things difficult, but at the same time, there’s a plus to that,” he said. “If you go to assist somebody that me or somebody else on the department knows, it can be reassuring. It’s neighbors helping neighbors. And it doesn’t matter if it’s on this side of the river or the other side of the river.”

He said he got into firefighting by chance. Dennett and his family had moved back to Dixfield because of work, and a member of Dixfield Fire Company, Chris Hebert, encouraged him to join, saying “We could use some help.”

At 69, Dennett said he still enjoys firefighting.

“I think from time to time about winding down, but I’ve done that for quite a few years,” he said. “But I do enjoy it and glad I can help out a little bit, and will try to do it as long as I can.”

FUTURE OF FIRE FIGHTING

Dennett said he’s seen changes in the fire service during his nearly four decades.

“Even when I started, there was a waiting list to get onto a fire department, in many cases. I know that was the case here,” Dennett said. “And today, it’s really difficult to find good, qualified individuals. I’ve got one coming on and I’ve got another one who was a good, qualified individual who has moved on and got a full-time position somewhere else. It’s up and it’s down.”

Dennett said that for someone who wants to become an interior firefighter, there’s definitely a lot of time involved. “And a lot of sacrifice because we can’t do it all (training) in-house, so most of them would have to find an ongoing class somewhere and travel,” he said.

He said some chiefs in the area are looking at possibly holding a basic firefighter class in the future.

“And that’s something that would qualify somebody to do certain things and even interior work,” Dennett said. “It’s not the full Firefighter I and Firefighter II (foundational levels of structural firefighting training), but it’s a huge asset if someone can complete that basic fire school.”

Dennett said the area departments work together pretty well.

“We’ve got departments in the area that are very well staffed, on a volunteer basis, and that seems to change over time,” Dennett said. “For awhile, we had a pretty strong staff and others in the area didn’t. And it changes from one department to another. That’s just the way it works out.”

The chief encourages anyone who has thought about joining a local fire department to at least check it out.

“If they don’t know it’s for them, check it out and see if it’s for you. For those who get involved, their family, their spouses, it’s quite a commitment for them as well,” Dennett said. “It’s not for everyone and that’s OK. But if there’s a way that somebody thinks they can do it and serve their community, it’s an excellent opportunity.”

The department fluctuates between 16 and 18 members, including a couple of junior firefighters.

Dennett said the two junior firefighters are involved with the fire science program at Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico, “and that gives them an excellent opportunity to get that Firefighter I and II certification over a two-year period.”

“And when they become 18, they can participate right along with everybody else with respect of the potentials,” he said. “When they’re under 18, they can train in real live situations so they can do everything everyone else can, but they can’t be in a hazardous environment when they’re under 18,” which includes entering a building or entering a woods fire where there’s standing timber.

He said a lot of departments have benefitted from the junior firefighting program because if those young people stick around, they become an asset to local volunteer departments.

“The thing that’s probably touched me the most is that my son, Ryan, came on as a junior,” Dennett said. “He made the effort to go to a program like Region 9, the Foster Tech program in Farmington, and got his firefighter certification, his EMT certification the next year, the went on to Southern Maine Community College to get his degree, and served on two department and is now a full-time career firefighter in Brunswick.”

His son following in his footsteps, he said, is “the biggest thing that’s had an effect on me,” Dennett said.