A new Buxton fire chief will start duties next month.

Selectmen chose James A. Graves, 38, of Winslow, from a field of 11 applicants for the job.

Selectman Bob Libby said Graves would take the helm on Dec. 19. “We all agreed he’s the guy we should have,” Libby said.

A veteran firefighter, Graves has been the lead fire inspector the past two years for the Waterville Fire Department.

“I want citizens to be assured I will do everything in my power to protect them,” Graves said.

Buxton has been without a fulltime chief since July 1 when Jeff Grinnell unexpectedly handed selectman his resignation. Grinnell, who cited personal reasons for resigning, had been chief for seven years and stayed on as a call firefighter and paramedic. Gene Harmon, deputy chief at the Bar Mills station, has been acting chief.

The town advertised the post in July and received 19 applications from several states. But their top two choices turned down offers in late August, causing Buxton selectman to begin a new search.

Selectman apppointed him to the job last week.

Graves will meet with Buxton firefighting officers on Sunday, Nov. 19. He plans to meet all the town’s 60 firefighters soon.

He has been married two years and has a 16-month-old daughter and two stepchildren. His wife, Melissa Graves, works at a Portland law firm. They are selling their Winslow home and plan to buy one in Buxton. The couple plans to rent a home in Hollis first.

Selectman Jean Harmon said the board has met with Graves’ wife, who is a native of Augusta. Harmon said she was very supportive of her husband’s career, and Harmon said she thinks the couple will be pleased with Buxton.

A native of Madison, N.H., Graves likes Buxton because it reminds him of his hometown, and he’s familiar with Buxton because he once had family living in a nearby town. Graves, who is from a farm family, likes the rural atmosphere in Buxton.

“It reminds me of my hometown,” he said. “I’m a country boy in my heart.”

Graves holds an associate’s degree in fire science and is close to earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration at the University of Maine in Augusta. He plans to attend graduate school.

He’s a firefighter, emergency medical technician and a hazardous materials instructor. Besides nine years as a firefighter in New Hampshire, he’s been with the Waterville department 13 years. But he said Tuesday he wouldn’t take “big city” ideas to Buxton.

Waterville Fire Chief Bill Page learned just last week that Graves is leaving. Page described Graves as a hard worker and studious. He said Page knows chemistry and is good at handling hazardous materials. He said Page has maintained the department’s fire extinguishers and phone systems on trucks.

“We’re going to miss him,” Page said.

Jean Harmon said Buxton selectmen are pleased with their decision to hire Graves. “We think he’ll do great,” Harmon said.

The Buxton fire chief is paid $45,000 a year and the town provides its chief with a car.