The town of Buxton has narrowed its search for a new fire chief to two candidates.

Both candidates will work a half-day this week at the Buxton fire station to “get a feel for the job” before a final decision is made within the next few weeks, said Jean Harmon, chairwoman of the Board of Selectman.

Both candidates, whom Harmon would not name, each have more than 30 years of fire-industry experience and are from southern Maine. One candidate was previously a fire chief.

The eight-member search committee reviewed 30 applicants, including one from California, before narrowing the search to the final two candidates. The new chief will earn $50,000 per year.

“We’ve had an overwhelming response and the candidates that we interviewed even in the first round were highly qualified,” Harmon said. “Each of the final candidates brings a different style, and it will be hard to make a decision.”

The new chief will replace Larry Straffin, whom the selectman approved the resignation of one month prior to the end of his six-month probationary period. Straffin replaced Jim Graves, who worked with the town for less than a year. Graves replaced Jeff Grinnell, who had been with the town for seven years. Harmon said the committee wants to hire a fire chief who plans to be with the town for several years.

“This will be the third chief in two years and it does make it a little more challenging,” Harmon said. “The last thing you want is your personnel to not have consistency. You want to make sure that the wheel keeps running smoothly.”

In the interim, Andy Townsend has filled in “nicely” as acting chief during the search process, Harmon said. He has been rotating duties with Deputy Chief Greg Jones.

“The residents have not been lacking anything during this process,” Harmon said. “We are a paid volunteer fire department and those firefighters have still responded to calls. There has been no lapse to the protection of the town.”

Both Townsend and Jones, along with former Scarborough Fire Chief Bob Carson, are on the search committee. Their experience and efforts during the process have been “invaluable” Harmon said.

“I’m not a firefighter, and I don’t have the knowledge or experience that they have to know if the correct answers are being given,” she said. “It’s very nice to have their input.”

When the town hired Straffin, it received only 11 applicants. Selectman Bob Libby said he couldn’t explain why the interest was so high this time.

“We’ve got some great applicants and quite a few of them were highly qualified,” Libby said. “I don’t know why it’s higher, but we’re a desirable community and I hope that’s part of the reason.”

Straffin’s resignation preceded Police Chief Jody Thomas’ July 2 resignation. Thomas was on the job for 16 years and stayed with the town through Buxton Community Day on July 19. Her official final day was on July 20.

Her resignation prompted some community concern as to why several top administrators resigned rapidly. Neither Thomas’ nor Straffin’s resignation letters, nor the selectman, gave a reason for their departures. However, Buxton Selectman Dan Collomy told the American Journal the day after Thomas’ resignation that the whole thing was a “sticky mess,” though he said he could not elaborate because personnel issues are confidential.