
Ryan Johnston has taken over as the new fire chief at the Skowhegan Fire Department. Johnston, who started his duties Aug. 15, stands by a ladder truck Wednesday at the fire department in Skowhegan. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)
SKOWHEGAN — Ryan Johnston keeps himself pretty busy.
For the last 2 1/2 years, the lifelong firefighter has worked full-time as Skowhegan’s deputy fire chief. He’s also a captain for the Oakland Fire Rescue Department and a per-diem firefighter for the Clinton Fire Department.
And, Johnston runs his own firefighter training company, traveling around New England to provide both classroom and hands-on classes.
Now, the 53-year-old Clinton native, who lives in Oakland, is taking on a new role as Skowhegan’s new fire chief.
“The main thing is to keep continuity here with the guys,” Johnston said of his goals for the chief role. “And we’re doing so many good things.”
Johnston officially took over the top job earlier this month, following the retirement of former Chief Ronnie Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, who came to Skowhegan after a 25-year career in Virginia and a stint as Winslow’s fire chief, announced he was stepping down in June and worked his last day in mid-July. He came to the Skowhegan Fire Department around the same time as Johnston in late 2022.
“Chief Johnston has served Skowhegan thus far with distinction and dedication to the town and members of the fire department,” the department said in a social media post announcing the recent promotion. “We anticipate nothing less than the same moving forward and look forward to further working with him in his new role.”

Ryan Johnston, who has worked for fire departments in Bangor, Oakland and Clinton, has taken over as fire chief at the Skowhegan Fire Department. Johnston, who started his duties Aug. 15, is shown with a ladder truck Wednesday inside the fire department in Skowhegan. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)
Interim Town Manager Nicholas Nadeau, who led the hiring process for the chief position, said town officials were hoping for a large candidate pool when the job was initially posted but did not receive many applications. An application review committee was standing at the ready, but was not ultimately needed, Nadeau said.
“We’re grateful that Ryan had applied because it was pretty obvious, from the applicants that did apply, that Ryan was our guy,” Nadeau said. “He has the qualifications and the experience needed for this role, and then, obviously, the direct experience working for Skowhegan. It was pretty much a natural fit to move him into that role.”
Nadeau said Johnston’s familiarity with Skowhegan, along with experience in both smaller and larger municipalities in Maine, made him stand out.
The town’s goal is to make its services as efficient and effective as possible, Nadeau said.
“I have a lot of faith that he’s going to do great in this role for the town,” Nadeau said. “And he’s well-liked by many.”
Johnston has spent his entire career in the fire service, with the exception of stints as a part-time police officer in Oakland and Fairfield and a briefly-lived foray into a full-time officer job in Fairfield that he said confirmed law enforcement was not the job for him.
A graduate of Lawrence High School, Johnston started as a firefighter in Clinton in 1991. He went on to work for 17 years at the Bangor Fire Department. Before coming to Skowhegan almost three years ago, Johnston worked for eight years at the Waterville Fire Department, retiring as a captain.
Johnston holds an associate’s degree in fire science and is a certified plans reviewer and fire inspector. He said he was among the first 50 students to complete the National Fire Academy Managing Officer Program and among the first 25 students in Maine to complete the Fire Officer IV certification.
Johnston owns and operates Maineiac Fire Training, which offers training courses for firefighters around New England, and sometimes beyond. He started the company in 2014.
“With this new role, I think I will probably slow down a little bit on the hands-on training, and maybe just do a little more classroom stuff,” Johnston said. “But I haven’t really decided that yet.”
Johnston said he has specific, long-term goals for the Skowhegan Fire Department but was not ready to share them publicly.
An ongoing goal is to evaluate staffing and equipment levels, Johnston said. The department currently has four shifts of full-time staff, each with a captain and two firefighters.
“Sometimes, that’s just not enough,” he said. “Sometimes, with the amount of calls that we’re running, and the types of calls that we’re running, that’s bare minimum.”
The call force has about a dozen members, but three are full-time firefighters elsewhere and some head back to college in the fall, Johnston said. Their other obligations make it “hit or miss” as to how many respond to a call on any given day.
“We’re hurting as bad, if not more, as anybody else is with the call department,” Johnston said.
Johnston said he could see the town adding one more full-time firefighter to each shift, although he is mindful that would come with a financial impact to town taxpayers.
The additional firefighter would not only add manpower, but make responses safer, he said, as it would allow the department to consistently meet the standard of “two in, two out” on fire calls. The standard, in general, advises that for every two firefighters that go into a fire, two must stay outside.
Johnston also has been finalizing approval for the department to be able to review plans instead of the Office of State Fire Marshal. The town has already enacted an ordinance that would allow him to do so and is waiting for final approval from the state in the coming months, he said.
Doing those reviews in-house will help facilitate ongoing economic development in the town, Johnston said.
“The fire marshal’s office is so inundated with new businesses: It’s basically first come, first served,” Johnston said. “And in towns like this, sometimes people have to wait a little longer to get their plans reviewed and approved. So, now, being able to do that here, we’re going to take that next step.”
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