RICHMOND

An era ends Saturday when Richmond Fire Chief Andrew Pierce retires after seven years as head of the department and 35 years with the department.

Pierce’s most recent two-year term expires Saturday, and the department has elected new officers. Pierce called the decision to retire a difficult one, but the 51- year-old said he wants to spend more time with his family, including his 9-month old grandson, and step away from the bureaucracy that comes with being chief.

As a high school senior, Pierce joined the Richmond Fire Department in 1977, at a time when the department was flourishing. In a small town where there wasn’t much to do, becoming a firefigher “seemed like the thing to do,” Pierce said.

When he heard the whistle and the big fire horn blow, followed moments later by the sound of fire trucks rushing to a call, “it just intrigued me, I guess,” Pierce said.

Back then, businesses in town allowed volunteer firefighters to leave work and go to fires; not many do that anymore, he said.

Pierce owns and runs Pierce’s County Store on Main Street and normally closed the store to respond to daytime calls. The store, located just down the road from the fire station, has been a hub of fire department activity. Townspeople seeking burn permits or with questions have always been able to find him there; so have fire department equipment salesmen.

When Pierce joined the department, its ranks included 40 firefighters. He’s seen many come and go. It’s not a job everyone can do, he said. Many have tried but moved on to something else because their heart wasn’t really in it.

His was.

“You feel proud to be a fireman,” Pierce said of his reasons for signing on as a teenager and staying on for so long. “You were somebody. Even if you were nobody.”

More than three decades later, he believes the basic job of a firefighter hasn’t changed, but there is certainly more to it. Certification requirements have increased greatly. It is difficult to keep up with the necessary training, Pierce said, and many people don’t have the time.

Greater training demands when people also must commit more time to work and family make it more difficult to recruit volunteer firefighters, a trend Pierce doesn’t see changing.

“You really have to be a dedicated person,” he said.

Pierce estimates only one out of 10 members continue beyond a couple years.

During the day, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Richmond all respond to calls within any of the three towns through a mutual aid agreement to help combat the lack of manpower.

Pierce, one of five children, moved to Maine from Maryland in 1972 at age 12, when his parents bought the Richmond country store, formerly named Kent’s Market. He attended what is now Southern Maine Community College and studied automotive technology, but remained involved in the family business. He married his high school sweetheart, Patricia in 1983 and moved to Bowdoin — still only about 10 miles from the Richmond station on Myrtle Street. He bought onethird of the store from his father in 1990 and the remaining two-thirds and property in 2000.

His first position with the fire department, Pierce said, was as the steward for Engine 1, a standard pumper he drove regularly from around 1980 until 2005. As the steward, he did truck checks and kept track of all equipment aboard.

Sometime around 1993, he became the deputy incident commander, a position created especially for him because of his availability during the day when not many firefighters with his level of experience could be summoned to respond to calls.

About seven years later, he ran for and become the assistant chief — third in line from chief — and in 2005, he was elected chief.

Pierce admits he felt nervous the first time he sought to become chief. But he quickly settled into the job.

“I didn’t have a clue how much administrative work there would be,” Pierce said.

He’d managed the store’s finances, but as chief, he oversaw a $80,000 department budget. Pierce sought help as needed from other chiefs and the job got easier over time, he said.

Most fiscal years, he returned $5,000 to $10,000 of unspent funds to the town because, “I didn’t want to spend it frivolously.”

Whether it’s a hazardous materials, fire, car crash or extrication call, being chief also means thinking of things he’d never had to worry about before. Fire chiefs have to expect the unexpected. As an example, he explained the chief ’s role when fire crews responded to the report of a garage that had fallen down on top of a man.

“You just want to make sure you have the proper tools with you, make sure the rescue has been called to cover the medical part,” Pierce said. “If there’s power involved,” make sure the power is turned off. While firefighters focus on removing the victim from danger and extinguishing the blaze, the chief has to make sure the firefighters are safe.

Fire chiefs can never leave the job behind, Pierce said, and being chief has influenced where he goes and for how long, because in the event that something happened, he wants to be there.

“My lovely, beautiful wife, Patricia, has supported me, and my whole family has supported me, all the years,” Pierce said — including his son, Matthew, daughter and son-in-law Meghan and Daniel Skelton, with their 9- month-old son, Landyn. Monday, he and Patricia celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.

Ian Alexander, Richmond Fire Department’s deputy chief, has responded to fire calls alongside Pierce for many years and described him as a huge asset to the town whose departure represents a loss.

“I’m sure we’re still going to be calling him occasionally, if not every other day,” Alexander said. “He’s certainly earned my respect and I’m going to miss him out in the field.”

“Once it’s in your blood, it’s always in your blood,” said Alexander, who estimates that Pierce has dedicated more than 20,000 hours to the fire department.

“Those boots are going to be hard to fill,” Alexander said.

“I really appreciate all the help and all the work that all the guys throughout the years have done for me and with me,” Pierce said as he reflected on his impending retirement. “They will all be greatly missed.”

Asked about leaving those he’s trained and fought fires beside, he said, “I’m not giving up on them and they’re not giving up on me.”

He’s volunteered to drive Engine 1 while a newer truck undergoes scheduled body work in the near future. He also volunteered to build a database of GPS locations of hydrants in Richmond and Bowdoin, which will be an important tool for firefighters.

Also part of his legacy, Pierce and former fire chief Dana Sullivan recently worked to reinstate the air horn on the fire station. Pierce told the new chief, “I would personally take care of the air horn if it needs any repairs of any kind.”

Matthew Roberge will serve as the new fire chief, Alexander as deputy chief and Michael Averell as assistant chief.