Lincoln fire chief drafts search policy

LINCOLN – The fire department will not end any search for a missing person unless the person is found or the Maine Warden Service opts to end search efforts, Fire Chief Joshua L. Williams said Thursday.

Williams enacted the new, tentative policy on Monday in response to flaws found in search procedures that might have left a troubled young man on a radio tower in woods atop Fish Hill last week but for a Mountainview Drive resident, Robert Rhodes, who helped get the man to safety.

Representatives from the Maine Warden Service – which typically handles large-scale searches of woods areas – and the police department must sign off on Williams’ rough draft before it is finalized. Williams is awaiting a review by the warden service, he said.

Williams, who was the incident commander during the Nov. 22 search, took responsibility for calling it off too soon and for the search’s communications lapses and jurisdictional questions.

“Unfortunately, there are holes in policies, as we discovered with the incident,” Williams said. “We’re fortunate to have people up there who took some initiative. [Rhodes] really was the hero of the story.”

An Oregon native who became chief on Sept. 6, Williams found after the incident that the department had no written policy on searches.

“There’s no excuse whatsoever for what we did, but this has been addressed,” he said.

Under the policy, which Williams released Thursday, firefighters are required to take the following steps:

. Document all pertinent information on missing people, such as their last known location, age, clothing, medical problems and length of time missing;

. Notify Maine Warden Service, Lincoln Police Department and Williams. If Williams is not available, firefighters will follow the chain of command;

. Avoid sounding alarms or initiating large-scale searches unless such is requested by Williams or his designee;

. Williams or a designee will determine a course of action with a Maine Warden Service representative.

. The fire department will assist the wardens in any way feasible as determined by the fire chief. The fire department will not initiate a search unless a warden asks for one.

The search policy applies only to people lost or facing immediate or potential peril in woods. Other missing persons such as runaways will be referred to police or other agencies.

As he continues to settle into his job, Williams is beginning to review all department policies to identify other holes and fill them, he said.

Williams replaced Fire Chief William Lee, who abruptly resigned his position in February after about four years on the job.

Lee and Town Manager Glenn Aho said their differing management styles were at the root of Lee’s resignation. Lee joined the department as a chief on May 15, 2001.

Aho ran the fire department’s bureaucracy from February to Sept. 6, while firefighters handled the department’s emergency-scene management.