Van Buren firefighters hail their chief> Department convenes for 22nd recognition night

VAN BUREN — The past year has been good to Fire Chief Chanel Bouchard. Not only did he mark his 35th year at the helm of his volunteer crew, he also was named the state’s No. 1 fire chief.

A look back at his years with the department was one highlight of the Van Buren Fire Department’s 22nd annual firefighters recognition night Saturday.

Assistant Chief Vern Ouellette, who each year produces a visual presentation of the past year’s highlights, prepared a special one marking the chief landmark.

In his travels through Maine as the county fire marshal, Ouellette said, he often is asked about Bouchard. While Bouchard headed a small rural volunteer department, he made his mark in Maine.

“It seems that these (past few months) have been the time of my life,” Bouchard said. The successes seen by his crew were “worth all of the pains” they met along the way, among them a tight budget. The successes made him “forget the downsides, the valleys.” That their department’s budget was the slowest growing in town has not hindered firefighters.

“Has it been easy? No, it hasn’t been easy. Challenging? It’s been extremely challenging,” Bouchard said.

“Maybe I was brought up in the era that we valued the almighty dollar. … I feel that I have operated this department as my own and I feel that anybody who doesn’t do that is going to lose track.”

Bouchard noted that many strides were made in protective gear for firefighters. “If that in itself has not been payback and (cause for) rejoicement, I don’t know what is.”

When he joined the squad, “we used to judge a true firefighter by the amount of smoke he could eat.” The advent of air packs was just one change.

Bouchard said his crew did not fight fires for the praise, the glory or the money. “We are doing something nobody else wants to do. … We, the members of the Fire Department, are gifted with the will to give.”

A ledger page in one of the scrapbooks on display at the event bore that out. It showed that local firefighters were paid $5 a fire. Half a century later, their pay has crept up to $8 a fire.

“I’m proud to be a member of such a worthy group of people,” Bouchard said. The biggest reward was to “know that we are doing something to help others. … Let us be proud of who we are and what we stand for.”

Town Council Chairman Thibodeau, one of many speakers, said the department did its job in spite of limited resources. “I think you’re the best damn fire department in the state, if not the country. I know you guys don’t do this for the money, so thanks for caring.”

“I have the greatest respect for you as a department,” said Town Manager Clare Dever. “You have a really terrific leader here at the helm.”

The Rev. Marcel LaJoie said firefighters answered the call to serve others out of their sense of duty.

The chief honored members of his crew for their achievements over the past year. James Cyr, a retired member who rose to the rank of assistant chief, was made a lifetime honorary member for his 21 years of service.

Bouchard said Cyr still bore scars from injuries he received fighting a fire at the Hammond Hotel several years ago. Cyr was one of the firefighters caught on the third floor when fire flashed through the building in one of the department’s tensest moments.

The chief announced the promotions of Joey Dumond to assistant chief and Kenneth Dumond to captain.

Bouchard praised the firefighters who put in more than 300 volunteer hours to spruce up the fire station, who took part in driver training and raised funds for the department and the Pine Tree Burn Foundation, and who pitched in with a long list of other activities.

He lauded Steve Goldberg for giving back to the department its smokehouse after he bought the property on which it sat. It has been moved to a new site by firefighters.

Ralph Dumais was recognized for founding the department’s fire prevention program in the early 1970s. Bouchard said children who learned about fire safety then were firefighters and parents now. He credited education for the significant drop in fire calls.