DURHAM – From full-time plumber and part-time fire chief to full-time fire chief and part-time plumber, Bill St. Michel is now Maine Fire Chief of the Year.

St. Michel, who knew he had been nominated for the award but didn’t expect to win, says his wife “set him up” for a real surprise.

His wife, Kathy, usually attends the annual Maine Municipal Association convention with him. This year, she nonchalantly told him she was going shopping while he went to his Maine Fire Chiefs Association meeting, held during the convention.

St. Michel went on to his meeting, expecting a fellow fire chief to get the award.

When it came time for the presentation, he was called to the stage and suddenly his wife, three grown children and four grandchildren, and even Wesley Bennett, the chairman of the Durham Board of Selectmen, appeared.

The cat was out of the bag.

“My wife and children really kept this a secret from me. They set me up. In all honesty, I can say I didn’t think I had much of a chance of winning,” St. Michel said a few days after the presentation.

Presenter William Hussey, Peru’s fire chief and outgoing president of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, explained that the award is to “recognize a fire chief for leadership and dedication to his community and accomplishments in the fire service.”

A part-time fire chief since 1993 and full-time since 2002, St. Michel has been a member of the department since 1973, when he joined at the age of 18.

“Since 1993, Chief St. Michel has developed a strategic plan for the department and has been instrumental in moving the department forward in both operation and equipment improvements,” Hussey noted.

He cited St. Michel’s “professionalism and leadership,” noting the “many major improvements he has made over the past 11 years to the department. Durham Fire and Rescue would not be where it is without Chief St. Michel.”

St. Michel is involved in numerous firefighting organizations, including the Androscoggin County Chiefs Association, Cumberland County Chiefs Association, Androscoggin County Fire Fighter Association, Tri-County Training Association and Central Maine Regional Resource Center Planning Committee.

He is coordinator of the Tri-County Fire Fighter I Training and is vice president of the Coastal Maine Mutual Aid Association. He also is involved in the joint communications committee among Freeport, Pownal and Durham, and “a leader in the field of fire prevention education.”