Staff Writer

After 16 years of service, Allan Moir has been named Kennebunkport’s new fire chief.

Moir served on Kennebunkport’s fire and police departments and the Kennebunk Fire Department, and is Kennebunkport’s sewer district superintendent.

Moir has stopped working at Kennebunk Fire Department since he was named Kwnnwbunkport Fire Chief May 13. He replaces Paul Moshimer, who resigned in April.

“He’s doing fine, he’s settled in very nicely,” said Larry Mead, Kennebunkport town manager.

Mead said Moir was chosen for the position because he is very active in hazardous waste management and has been employed by the town for 30 years.

“He had thought long and hard about the position. He debated making it full time or to split it,” Moir said.

In the end, Mead decided to split the position between Moir as chief and Dick Stedman in charge of the administration.

“It was a good fit. I already worked full time for the town and I was available,” Moir said.

Whenever the fire department receives a call during the day, Moir leaves the water district and heads to the fire, unless he is in the middle of a water emergency.

“I’ve always done that, but now I get up and go as chief instead of firefighter,” Moir said.

Before taking the superintendent position at the Water District in 1981, Moir worked in Upton, Mass., as a firefighter/EMT and policeman and chief operator at the wastewater department.

“I grew up and wanted to do it,” Moir said of being a firefighter.

But after he moved to Maine, Moir stopped working as a firefighter and focused on the water district and police work.

“I was a reserve police officer,” he said. “Police officers make money.”

Eventually, Moir returned to firefighting after some friends talked him into it.

“I enjoyed it, it was fun and I had friends in the department,” he said.

And he was no longer just an unpaid volunteer – in Kennebunkport, volunteer firefighters get a small stipend for calls.

Moshimer’s resignation in April came more than six months after his Sept. 18 arrest for aggravated assault in Wells after officers confronted him outside the Burnt Mill Road home of Peter Dugovic, according to Wells Lt. Jerry Congdon.

Congdon said Moshimer allegedly struck Dugovic with his motorcycle helmet after he drove by the home, saw his fiancee’s car in the driveway and confronted Dugovic.

Congdon said Moshimer was carrying a .45-caliber pistol in his jacket, which he took off and handed to officers after telling them it contained a gun. In January, York County Superior Court indicted Moshimer on two counts – aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon.

Moir said Moshimer had been on leave since September, so he has a lot of catching up to do.

“That’s part of being the boss, just playing catch up,” Moir said.

Moir’s first order of business will be to fill the positions of lieutenant and district chiefs. He said he will then focus on training for current staff and recruiting new firefighters.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.