“I have mixed feelings about retiring,” admitted Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre. “But Pooch’s passing got me thinking about what I wanted to do. I have been Gorham’s Chief for 36 years. I am 68 and the body catches up with the years,” he mused while glancing at the pictures on the wall above his desk. A photo of Lefebvre as a toddler in a toy firetruck and one as a teenager with the Westbrook Fire Department are evidence of the life-long commitment this son of a firefighter gave to his career and the two communities he served.
Six months after graduating from Westbrook High School, Lefebvre was a full-time firefighter. Byron Rogers, retired Westbrook Fire Chief who has known Lefebvre since those early days, was quick to say, “he is one helluva good guy who does the fire service a great honor.” After 16 years with the Westbrook department, Lefebvre left to become Chief of the Gorham Fire Department.
Based on childhood photos, it is clear the path Chief Lefebvre would take.In 1984, Gorham had fewer than 11,000 residents and a fire department with neighborhood stations that operated with little coordination, Lefebvre said. “The biggest challenge was making the department one department,” he remembered. There was resistance to consolidation and some volunteers left, but “there were new standards from the State, including training.”
Former Police Chief, and current Town Councilor, Ron Shepard, said, “Bob was so dedicated to the citizens of Gorham. He built the department up to high standards. He was always looking for the innovative way to do things like the student living program (where student firefighters live at the stations) and sharing stations with other towns. I enjoyed working with him all those years. He would come into my office, or I would come into his. We didn’t always agree, but we had good conversations and worked a lot of things out.”
The Fire and Rescue Department now has a staff of 14 firefighters and EMT personnel as well as a call department of 110. Three of the six fire stations are shared with adjacent towns, a cost savings, and something very few departments in New England do.
The biggest changes Lefebvre has seen in more than 50 years as a firefighter have been in equipment, supplies, and training. There were no trained EMTs when he started. “Now we have gone from just a first-aid course to the extensive training paramedics have today. We have more protective clothing and breathing equipment,” he said. “We had no idea about hazardous materials. When there was a gas spill, they just flushed it down the drain.”
When asked about his most important accomplishments as Gorham’s Fire Chief, Lefebvre replied, “the sprinkler ordinance.” He expected “flack,” and he got it. There had been an ordinance since 1989, but the current one is more inclusive.
“Over the next ten years it will have significant impact,” he said, “by reducing injuries and property loss, and lower insurance costs.”
He is also proud of improvements in training which “is as good or better than anyplace.” He is appreciative of the Town Council and Town Manager for supporting “things like training classes in the budget.”
Lefebvre wants especially to be remembered for developing good training. “When I became a firefighter it was mostly on the job training,” he said. “Now it takes 300 hours of training to be a firefighter.”
He hopes the people who worked for him “think of him as having their backs and for having worked for the betterment of those people and of Gorham.” What he will miss most after retirement is the people he worked with.
Photo credit Roger MarchandFire apparatus from York and Cumberland Counties, Cumberland County sheriff vehicles, as well as vehicles from Gorham PD, Gorham Public Works and Gorham Recreation lined Main Street in a heartwarming surprise parade on June 19 to honor him. Lefebvre is shown with his wife Kandy.
Former Town Manager David Cole said, “Bob was one of the most dedicated professionals that I worked with in my career. He cared deeply about this community and the employees in the Fire and Rescue Department. As the Town rapidly grew over the past 30+ years he was instrumental in ensuring that the Fire and Rescue Department stayed up to date and helped increase the level of professionalism throughout the Department. Bob also implemented a number of new programs that saved the Town a lot of money over the years and were later copied by other communities. I wish Bob the very best with his retirement.”
Lefebvre’s retirement plans include playing lots of golf, spending more time in his woodworking shop, and with his wife Kandy, who is a recently retired nurse.
“Being Fire Chief is a 24/7 job that you never get away from,” Lefebvre said. “But I never thought of it as a job. I never got out of bed in the morning not wanting to go to work.”