Buxton Fire Chief Jeff Grinnell stunned the community when he resigned last week with only three days notice.
“It’s always a shock to lose good people,” said Selectman Cliff Emery.
Grinnell notified selectmen Wednesday that he was leaving his position as fire chief, effective July 1, citing personal reasons for his resignation. Dan Collomy, chairman of the Buxton selectmen, said Grinnell had been fire chief for seven years.
Grinnell did not respond last week to two telephone messages left at the Bar Mills Station, where the chief’s office is located, and a call at home on Friday afternoon as well as an e-mail seeking comment for this story.
Emery and Selectman Carol Sanborn announced Grinnell’s resignation at a scheduled monthly townwide meeting with Buxton firefighters. Grinnell did not attend the meeting.
The announcement caught firefighters by surprise. “Their faces looked stunned,” Emery said.
Sanborn said Grinnell handed his resignation to Emery and Selectman Jean Harmon. Grinnell wanted to stay on in Buxton as a call firefighter and paramedic, said Sanborn, and she believed that he would. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t,” she said.
Selectman Bob Libby said the town would not appoint a temporary chief. Libby said that Buxton has a qualified deputy chief at the town’s fire stations in Chicopee and Groveville in addition to Bar Mills. “There are no qualms about deputy chiefs handling anything that comes up,” he said.
Libby described Grinnell as an “excellent” firefighter and paramedic. He said Grinnell had been a hard worker and attended the University of Southern Maine three years ago to brush up on administrative skills. “We all feel sorry,” Libby said about Grinnell’s resignation.
Sanborn agreed that Buxton has “capable” personnel and she’s confident that the fire department could carry on until a new chief is hired. Sanborn praised Grinnell. “He’s leaving the department with good equipment,” Sanborn said.
Harmon said Grinnell had been instrumental in upgrading the fire department’s equipment, such as a jaws-of-life tool, with grant money. During Grinnell’s tenure, Buxton acquired two new fire trucks, with the latest arriving this spring.
Earlier this month, Grinnell announced that a tanker/pumper had arrived and thanked the selectmen, citizens and a committee that made it possible. When Grinnell resigned, he told selectmen that he had enjoyed working for Buxton, Harmon said.
Grinnell has been organizing the firefighters’ muster and chicken barbecue for the Buxton Community Day on July 22.
Buxton has advertised to fill the fire chief’s position. An ad in a local Sunday paper said the position pays a starting weekly salary of $848 besides a “generous” benefit package. Sanborn expected that the town would hire Grinnell’s replacement within seven weeks. “There’s a process to go through,” she said.
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