New Gloucester fire chief confirmed by board

NEW GLOUCESTER — Selectmen on Monday affirmed that town firefighter Toby Martin has been hired as chief of New Gloucester Fire and Rescue.

Town Manager Carrie Castonguay, who hired Martin, said he will be paid $65,000 a year. He began his duties Feb. 25.

Castonguay said Martin has 25 years of experience in fire and rescue services, and nationwide and state credentials. He earned a master’s degree in career and technical education from the University of New England in 2015.

Martin, who joined the department in 2013, said he wants focus on “where are we, where do we need to go and how do we meet the needs of the department, town and committee.”

He said, “We need to make the people within the organization, and internal and external stakeholders, feel valued.”

The department is looking at combining the fire and rescue budgets and reviewing the mission statements of both departments to meet the needs of the roughly 5,000 residents.

“We are collaboratively working on a budget with 24-hour coverage for the community,” Martin said.

Fire and rescue members cover the town with per diem personnel during the day and on-call personnel at night.

In 2018, the rescue budget was $180,430, offset by $92,000 from ambulance service transports.

The fire budget is $196,429.

Martin worked as a paramedic and OSHA training coordinator from 1992 to 2014 for United Ambulance of Lewiston and served as a flight paramedic for LifeFlight of Maine in Lewiston.

Martin also worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the Brunswick Fire Department, along with Rumford, Westbrook and Turner departments. Most recently he was the Emergency Medical Services director and Emergency Management Agency drector for Wiscasset.