Waterville Fire Chief Announces Departure From Department to Take New State Role

In an abrupt announcement that came on Tuesday evening as part of a Waterville City Council meeting, it was announced that current Waterville Fire Department Chief, Shawn Esler will be leaving the department as of October 3rd.

According to an article penned by the Kennebec Journal, Esler has accepted the position of Maine State Fire Marshall. This follows the announcement of former State Fire Marshall, Richard McCarthy's retirement last month. McCarthy had served in the role for just over a year when he announced his retirement.

Esler, who oversees more than 30 firefighters in his Chief position with Waterville, says he is excited for the new opportunity with the Office of The State Fire Marshall. The KJ went on to say that Esler had met with Mike Sauschuck, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, before going on to interview with Maine Governor, Janet Mills.

The Kennebec Journal was able to reach Esler at his home for comment where he said in part about his upcoming new position with the State,

“The fire marshal’s job doesn’t come up very often and I saw that the old fire marshal was retiring,” Esler said. “I also knew of some challenges that the office was facing and I submitted an application just to evaluate where I was in the fire service. I learned that I can add a lot of value to the Office of the (State) Fire Marshal.”

Continuing with his comments, Esler reflected on his relationship with now former State Fire Marshall, Richard McCarthy,

“He is a good man. I hope moving forward we can carry on some of the passion he has for the fire service. I know, having worked with that office for many years, that they are an extremely high quality staff. I’m very excited to work with the investigative division and the fire prevention division to progress the state forward.”

All of us here in Central Maine, and of course the city of Waterville, with Shawn the best with his new position as Fire Marshall and thank him for his service to the Waterville Fire Department and Central Maine.

Best of luck, Shawn!