The town of Standish has promoted longtime deputy fire chief Rob Caron to the department’s top position, following the recent departure of Brent Libby.

Caron, 39, began working for the Standish Fire/EMS Department in 1990 as a junior firefighter, eventually becoming a lieutenant, captain, and then deputy chief in 2001. The co-owner of Heat Tech Service, a Standish heating and installation service, Caron said he plans to sell the business now that he is working full time for the town.

On Feb. 10, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve Town Manager Gordon Billington’s appointment of Caron. According to Billington, the town’s search committee recommended Caron in late January.

“He was the most qualified from the applicant pool,” Billington said. He came highly recommended from our prior fire chief, who endorsed him for the position and he has served the town for 24 years. He is very dedicated to the town of Standish. That was important for us.”

According to Billington, Caron received a $2,825 annual stipend as deputy chief. His three-year contract as chief provides a starting salary of $56,847, Billington said. Once Caron takes a National Fire Academy communications course and attains an associate’s degree and an Advanced Life Support certification, his salary would increase to $63,163, according to the contract. Prior to his recent departure for Windham, Libby received $63,423, Billington said.

Libby worked with Caron for 10 years in Standish and assumed the title of Windham Public Safety Director on Jan. 5. He praised Caron’s abilities.

“I think that he’ll be able to serve the town and the department well,” Libby said. “He’s a very technical person. He knows the operation stuff in and out. He’s detail oriented. When he gets a hold of something he learns everything he needs to know about it and moves on to the next thing.”

Caron, who will command 96 employees at the department, said he hopes to follow in Libby’s footsteps.

“It will be very big shoes to fill,” Caron said. “Brent is just a fantastic, phenomenal, smart, educated person. He did very well.”

Caron said he does not foresee any major upcoming changes at the department.

“It’s a well-oiled machine right now and everybody does a fantastic job,” he said. “I don’t see any changes really in the near future.”

Chief Rob Caron