With the departure of its former fire chief Greg Payson, officers have moved up the ranks at the West Bath Fire Department — now under command of new Fire Chief Jonathan Beane.

Beane was appointed by both selectmen present at a Dec. 8 meeting. Deputy chief at the time of his appointment, Beane said he sat down with current officers to decide who would fill the officer ranks.

On the job a little more than a month, Beane said his favorite part of the job is working with those officers to solve problems that arise. They allow him to delegate tasks to make his job easier. And many of the decisions that will come from the department will come from this leadership group. There are some very experienced firefighters within the volunteer department who all have strengths he can tap into.

Payson, who left West Bath at the end of November to take a fulltime chief position in North Yarmouth, left the department in a good place, Beane said. It is his goal to keep the department up to snuff and moving forward.

The West Bath resident, now 32, grew up in Bath and later moved to Phippsburg with his family. He doesn’t come from a family of firefighters, yet firefighting, he said, “was the first thing I ever remember being interested in.”

He counted the days until he was old enough to join Phippsburg’s department as a junior firefighter at age 14 or 15.

“I bragged about that in school for days,” Beane recalled.

He started at West Bath Fire Department in 2003 and has filled every position within its ranks. He’s been decorated over the years as both firefighter of the year and officer of the year. He works full-time at Bath Bus Service in Bath. The fire chief is a part-time stipend position and it was a decision he gave long thought to before applying.

“It’s pretty self-rewarding to help somebody out of a bad situation,” Beane said. “We always see people at their worst times and it does feel good to help people,” whether it’s removing someone who has been involved in a bad car accident or helping them with something simple within their homes. Department members do a lot more than fight fires today and none of them do what they do for the thanks. And, like many firefighters have said before him, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little adrenaline rush out of it.”

The trucks could be rolling to a fire, car accident or medical emergency and anything in between.

“You never have the same thing twice,” Beane said.

One time it was a horse that had fallen and firefighters spent hours on scene trying to help.

There are 25 firefighters on the roster and Beane said the department has lucked out by having new members joining and many firefighters with a lot of experience. It’s a good team and a hardworking team, he said. The newer members are eager to learn and want to get better at the job. Some of the more seasoned department personnel recognize that and offer professional opportunities to supplement training. There have also been various moral-boosting activities, Beane said. Co. 2 came up with their own logo they wear on their helmets, for example, which is nice to see, “and it’s nice to see the knowledge spread around from the guys who have been doing this for a long time.”

The department is always training, whether it’s reviewing use of ladders or cold water training.

“We have the equipment for it and like the crew to know how to use it,” Beane said. “Water rescue aren’t the most common thing, but we have a lot of water around us.”

Also coming up in the ranks are Deputy Chief Mike Drake, Capt. Nick Randall, Capt. Alex Hatherly, Lt. Dan Sutton and Lt. Eddy Doyle.