AUGUSTA — John C. Dean, of Winthrop, is retiring as Maine’s Fire Marshal after 14 years on the job.

The Department of Public Safety said in a release this afternoon that Dean will retire at the end of the month. Assistant Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas will serve as acting fire marshal until a successor is named to replace Dean.

Prior to his appointment as fire marshal in 1998, Dean served for 27 years as a Maine firefighter. He was a member of the Old Town Fire Department from 1971 to 1989, rising to the rank of deputy chief, and from 1989 to 1998, Dean served as fire chief for the town of Wells.

“John Dean has spent his entire adult life making this state a safer place,” Public Safety Commissioner John Morris said in a statement. “His leadership as fire marshal coincided with the two safest years in Maine history for fire deaths and his commitment to fire safety has been recognized at the national level.”

Dean served as president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals; was a board member with the National Fire Protection Association; and has worked with numerous fire and life safety organizations.