OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Firefighting has always been one of Ricky Plummer’s passions.

Plummer, 58, began Sept. 8 as the town’s fire chief. Prior to coming to Old Orchard Beach, he was the fire chief in North Yarmouth.

He began years ago as a junior firefighter and has about 40 years of experience in the field of firefighting, with 18 of those years spent as a fire chief.

“I’ve always liked it,” he said, noting that he has relatives, including his brother, who have worked as firefighters.

His work in the field includes about 25 years in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, retiring there as fire chief, before serving as fire chief in Biddeford.

Plummer said he had been renting a home close to his work in North Yarmouth, and he and his wife Elizabeth own a home in Biddeford. He said he likes the area, including the ocean and the beach.

“It was an easy transition,” he said, noting that he knows a lot of the fire officials in the region from his days as a fire chief in Biddeford.

Plummer said he is enjoying working in Old Orchard Beach, and has found the staff, town manager and town council helpful and easy to work with. The position brings some new, interesting challenges, as the fire chief also oversees the lifeguards in Old Orchard Beach. Also, being a tourist community, the town is much busier in the summer than it is in the winter, though the number of calls in the winter has become more steady over the years.

“I like being hands-on,” he said. “If it sounds like an interesting call, I just jump on the engine and help.”

He said he likes the variety of duties, including administrative tasks and answering calls.

“It’s interesting,” he said. “You never know what the day’s going to be.”

Plummer said one of his goals is staffing a second ambulance in the winter, and will bring the request to the town during budget discussions. He said there are emergency calls that are being covered by mutual aid that could be covered by the town if it had the personnel. Plummer said the revenues generated by ambulance calls would offset the expense of new staff. Also, he said, it would ensure a quicker response time to emergency calls.

Plummer said another goal of his is to increase the call force. He said numbers have dwindled over the years, and with four people on staff, the department is very dependent on the on-call personnel.

Sitting in his office Thursday, in what used to be the police dispatch room, Plummer said he would also like to see some upgrades made to the 40-year-old fire station, which also used to house the town’s police station.

Plummer has four adult children and three grandchildren. In his free time he enjoys camping and snowmobiling.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].