BIDDEFORD — Five longtime Biddeford Fire Department firefighter paramedics are now lieutenants. They took their oaths of office for their new positions a week ago and were issued their new badges.

Together, Lieutenants Michael Drew, Steven Kiesman, Robert Mertz, Andrew Stevenson and Timothy Sevigny have an estimated 76 years of experience with the department.

They were promoted in a brief ceremony at a Biddeford City Council meeting Jan. 4. Four of the five attended in person; Mertz joined the others online.

“We are honored to be present with the swearing-in of new officers. I think it’s really great we have started doing this in public,” said Mayor Alan Casavant prior to the ceremony. “The council and citizens should be able to attach faces to the names of people who are doing so much to protect our citizens.”

“This is a special event for us,” said Fire Chief Scott Gagne.

Then came the swearing-in by City Clerk Carmen Morris.

Their badges, pinned to their uniforms by family members, sport a single “speaking trumpet” that signifies the rank of lieutenant in fire and emergency services.

“I hope that we continue to have a relationship between this council and yourselves and the department because in the ultimate analysis, we are working together,” the mayor said. “Thank you for all that you do.”

With the promotions, the department now has a total of eight lieutenants.

In a prior interview, Gagne estimated the department responded to 5,500 calls in 2020 and expected that to increase to 5,700 in 2021. About 80 percent of all calls are for rescue services.