RUMFORD — The Select Board has chosen Scott Baxter to be the next fire chief, starting July 1.

Baxter, 44, who lives in Farmington and was a captain for the Farmington Fire Department, was approved by the board June 18.

“I got my first career firefighter job as a firefighter/EMT in 2012 (in Rumford),” Baxter said. “I left in 2016 for the captain’s position in Farmington.”

Baxter said when he saw the job posting after current fire Chief Chris Reed announced his retirement, he decided to apply for it, if nothing else, to get the experience for the interview and going through the process. “And then I happened to get it. Over my career, being chief is part of the progression of a career firefighter,” he said.

He said he has been involved in firefighting since he was 15 years old.

“My father (Theodore “Ted” Baxter) was a fire chief in Wilton, so I pretty much grew up in it,” he said. “Basically, I was a junior firefighter, got the knowledge by just participating when I could in the department until I was 18.”

Baxter was one of six firefighters injured in a propane explosion at the LEAP Inc. building in 2019 that killed Farmington fire Capt. Michael Bell.

“Not that I remember any of it,” he noted, adding that that experience “makes you think more, but never a thought about giving up firefighting.”

Baxter said the event reiterated the importance of not being complacent.

“You need to be ready for anything on any call at any time,” he said. “It can go bad fast. It makes you more self-aware, situational awareness.”

He said his time as captain was when he developed his leadership skills.

“I have training in a wide variety of everything firefighter safety,” said Baxter, who has an associate degree in fire science. “I’ve done rope rescue, confined space, water rescue.”

He is also a hazmat technician, which means he’s a highly specialized responder who takes offensive action during incidents involving hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction.

“I take as much training as I can get because there’s such a wide variety of things that we respond to,” said Baxter.

He said a point of emphasis when he begins his new position will be building up the call force.

“When I left in 2016, it was pretty robust,” he said. “A crucial part of the fire department is having those extra people come in for calls.”

He said restrictions make it harder to join a call force because “it requires them to be just as trained as a career firefighter. At this point, anywhere in Maine, you have to rely on mutual aid.”

Baxter said he’s excited about the opportunity.

“I really want to focus on training as well, staying up to date with all trainings because there’s such a wide variety of what you respond to,” he said.