Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said he is ready to return to work a little more than a week after slashing his leg with a chain saw.

Lefebvre, 56, was cutting debris around 8 a.m. at the Gorham Country Club on Wednesday, July 23, helping clear the golf course after the July 19 storms rumbled through the town.

The chain saw he was using caught a standing snag while he was kneeling on his left knee, forcing the tool to kick back and slicing his right shin. The cut also chipped bone.

“I was able to stand and get pressure on it with my hand,” Lefebvre said. “The other guys I was working with were just a little ways behind me and I got to them and they put a towel on it and called 9-1-1 before getting me back to the maintenance shop at the country club.”

An ambulance took Lefebvre to Maine Medical Center in Portland where doctors spent an hour removing bone chips from his shin, and cleaning and sewing the wound.

He said he plans to return to work on Monday if he can drive. He will spend a few hours per day in the office, slowly increasing his hours. He said he hopes to return full time within the next three weeks.

Deputy Fire Chief Ken Fickett is filling in for Lefebvre until he returns to work at full capacity.

Fickett said he and his fellow firefighters were surprised when they heard Lefebvre’s name over the scanner referencing the accident.

“At first we didn’t really think it was him because they said he was 50, but he’s 56,” Fickett said. “Then we were concerned because it’s our fearless leader, but we were relieved when we learned it wasn’t life threatening.”

Lefebvre said he has been using chain saws since he was 15 and until a few years ago cut between six and 30 cords of wood for family and friends.

“It isn’t like I haven’t got experience with them, but I guess it’s why they call them accidents,” he said. “The one thing I should’ve been doing was wearing chaps.”