The Lakes Region community will gather later this week to honor the life of a Sebago firefighter and emergency medical technician who was killed Sunday in what authorities are calling a tragic shooting accident at a Baldwin gravel pit.
Chance Gallant may have only been 20 years old, but his mentor and his father said the young man had already made an impression on the community where he had lived all his life.
Jason Schoolcraft, deputy chief of the Sebago Fire and EMS Service, said Gallant was a dedicated public servant who was a certified firefighter and EMT. Schoolcraft, who used to live down the street from the Gallant family, said he had known Gallant since he was in grade school.
“They raised an amazing young man,” Schoolcraft said Monday of Gallant’s parents. “Everyone in the community knew what an upstanding young man he was.”
Chance Gallant, seen with his dog in a Facebook photo, was a member of Sebago’s on-call fire and emergency services company.
Gallant graduated in 2014 from Lake Region High School in Naples, where took classes in fire science. After graduation, he studied fire science at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. Schoolcraft said he mentored Gallant, guiding him through the admissions process and training he needed to become a member of Sebago’s on-call fire and emergency services company.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said that Gallant and five friends were shooting at a target in a gravel pit off the Carl Burnell Road in Baldwin on Sunday afternoon when one of the group’s rifles jammed. Two men in the party were trying to fix the weapon when it discharged as Gallant walked by them. He was struck in the chest and died at the gravel pit.
Gallant’s parents were told that as their son walked around a pickup truck to see if he could help fix the jammed gun, it discharged. Two of his friends, who are also firefighters, tried to save him.
“There was no horsing around, no alcohol, no drugs, nothing,” Lt. David Hall of the sheriff’s office told reporters during an impromptu news conference Sunday at the Baldwin gravel pit. “It was just a tragic accident.”
Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon said Monday that the fatal shooting has been turned over to the Maine State Police for further investigation. No charges have been filed.
Gallant’s father, Dwayne Gallant, said the family is heartbroken. Chance was Dwayne and Melinda Gallant’s only child. They have lived on Sebago Lake all his life.
“He was a happy person, a great kid,” Gallant said Monday evening. “He didn’t do drugs and everyone loved him. He was one of those kids, a great kid to be around.”
Gallant said his son and his friends would get together once a month and drive to the Baldwin gravel pit to do target practice.
The younger Gallant was familiar with guns. He built his own rifle and maintained a cabinet filled with guns at his parents’ home in Sebago.
“He was very safety-conscious,” Gallant said.
During his spare time, Gallant enjoyed hunting, fishing and riding his Jet Ski on Sebago Lake. He worked as a forklift operator at the Poland Spring bottling facility in Hollis, where his mother also works, his father said.
The Dolby Funeral Chapel on River Road in Windham is handling the arrangements. Dwayne Gallant said there will be a public viewing from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the Sebago Town Hall.
Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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