Templeton Fire Department makes two promotions

Templeton Fire Department makes two promotions

+ click to enlarge News staff photo by Tara Vocino Former Capt. Denis Hamel was promoted to deputy and former Lt. Rick Paine was promoted to captain on the Templeton Fire Department recently. Tara Vocino Reporter Former Templeton Fire Department Capt. Denis Hamel was recently promoted to deputy and former Lt. Rick Paine has been promoted to captain. Hamel has spent 36 years on the department. Paine has spent 20 years. Paine commented on the biggest change in his promotion. “I have taken on the role of training officer,” Paine said. “I will now organize and head fire training for the department.” While Paine doesn’t have set hours, he will have more active responsibilities at home. He serves on-call. “I will now research and plan training,” Paine said. “Before, I put in four hours per week. Now, I’ll put in 10.” Paine will train 38 firefighters/emergency medical technicians on the roster, 23 of them are active. For Hamel, he said not much has changed, except that he’s next-in-line to the chief. His title will now be C-2. “I was already full-time,” Hamel said. “I will now handle more media and incident calls, but my role hasn’t changed too much, even though I’ve moved up in rank.” Like most first responders, Paine has a familial history of serving on the department. “My father, Richard Paine Sr. was chief from 1977 to 2004,” Paine said. “My brother, Marty, was a firefighter in the ’80s. My grandfather, Harold, was Baldwinville chief in the ’60s.” Paine said it’s been a goal of his for quite a few years. “I’m honored to be in this position,” Paine said. “With my father as chief, there’s a lot of family history. It means a lot to me that I was able to progress through the ranks to be a position where I can train other people to make the Fire Department better. It’s a big thing for me.” The same goes for Hamel’s roots. “My father, Yves, served on-call in the 1960s,” Hamel said. “My brothers, Neil and Gerald, were on with me in the Otter River Station. They retired, and moved down south.” Besides Hamel having a family connection, he has a lengthy history on the department since graduating high school. “I was a call, volunteer firefighter in the 1980s,” Hamel said. “In the first half of the ’90s, I became a firefighter/emergency medical technician. I was promoted to lieutenant in 1997. I became captain in late ’12. And I was promoted to deputy recently.” Paine served a firefighter since 1996. He became an emergency medical technician and lieutenant in 2012. And he was promoted to captain recently. “I’m committed to the call,” Paine said. Paine said it’s generation-to-generation for both of them. Hamel said that Fire Chief Ray LaPorte said he chose them for their work ethics and skills. LaPorte gave them a verbal offer initially and followed up with a written letter. Paine said that Hamel has been a valuable asset to the department over the years.