Editor’s note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles. 
Windham Fire Chief Brent Libby wears
many vital hats. Aside from Fire/Rescue
Chief in Windham, he is also the town's
Emergency Management Agency director
and the Windham Fire Warden.
COURTESY PHOTO
By Elizabeth Richards
Brent Libby’s role as Fire and Rescue Chief for the Town of Windham is certainly not a 9 to 5 job.
“It’s a 24/7 job,” Libby said. “Emergencies don’t just happen Monday through Friday.”
In addition to overseeing Fire and Rescue services, Libby serves as the local EMA director and the Town Fire Warden. Fire and rescue services include fire suppression, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), hazardous materials response, and fire prevention and inspections to ensure a fire safe community.
EMS accounts for about 67 percent of their call volume currently, Libby said.
As the EMA director, Libby is responsible for emergency management such as hazard mitigation, storm response, and sheltering. As the Town Fire Warden, he manages burning permits and outdoor fires.
Each role connects with a different entity within the state, Libby said.
“It’s a little bit of everything some days,” he said. “There’s always something to pick up and work on.”
Libby said interaction with the community is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. He especially enjoys when the department is out at community events or people drop by with their children to check out the trucks.
“We can talk a little bit about what we do,” Libby said. “It’s always great to show people where their tax dollars are going, and what services they’re getting.”
Libby is also a paramedic, and while he doesn’t work in that capacity often, he said that he enjoys direct patient care as well.
“It’s nice to encounter somebody that needs assistance and then be able to carry that care through to the hospital. You get to know people a little bit and hopefully make them a little more comfortable and at ease in their time of emergency,” he said.
One of the biggest current challenges for Windham fire/rescue, Libby said, is ensuring that they have adequate staff to respond to the needs of the community.
“What once was a very robust volunteer fire department has transitioned to what we call a combination department,” he said. “Now, the department has full time, per-diem, and paid on-call staff.”
Currently, the department has 14 full time staff members who work 24-hour shifts. Three full time staff are on at once, Libby said, supplemented with per diem staff. This summer, available per diem staff has been lean, making staffing at normal levels challenging.
“When short staffed we call our neighboring communities for help, just as they do for us,” Libby said.” The departments end up working together, which is great but can also present challenges of its own.”
According to Libby, staffing is difficult because there are fewer people going into the industry, and per diem staff often work for several departments at the same time. The COVID-19 pandemic has also made staffing more difficult as people try to limit their exposure.
The Windham Fire Department has a program where college students, most from the Fire Science program at Southern Maine Community College live at the East Windham and South Windham stations. These students are with the department for at least two years, sometimes longer if they decide to continue their studies.
Libby said that the program has been good for recruitment, with many participants staying on as per diem or on call staff when they are finished with school.
He’s served as the Fire and Rescue Chief in Windham for six years. Prior to this position, he worked in Standish for 10 years, six of those as chief. Libby began his career as a junior firefighter in Gorham, where he grew up.
Today he lives in North Windham.
“Most of my family is around the area or coming back to the area, which is great,” he said.
His twin sister is back in Maine after living out of state, and his older brother and parents are also local, he said. When not at work, Libby spends time with his rescue dog, visiting with family, working in the yard, kayaking, and other outdoor activities.
“[Windham] is a good location for all of those,” he said.
Libby emphasized the care that the people of the department have for the community they serve is exceptional.
“Everything that they do is in the interest of the people that we’re helping,” Libby said. “They really, truly care for the people that they’re serving. They may never have met them before, they may never meet them again, but it’s important that the time that we interact with them is the best that it can be.” <
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