Woolwich Fire Chief Geoffrey McCarren tendered his resignation at Monday evening’s meeting of the Woolwich Board of Selectmen.

After giving his bi-weekly report McCarren said he had one more piece of business. “It saddens me to tell you I’m putting in my two weeks notice tonight.”

Monday, Aug. 3 will be his last day as fire chief.

McCarren said he’s enjoyed his tenure as fire chief but that it was time to move on.

“I have no regrets. I want to spend more time with my family and concentrate more on my business,” he said. McCarren owns Quonset Hardscapes, Inc. at 144 Shaw Road. He sells landscaping materials including rock, granite and patio stone.

McCarren also made a reference to reevaluating his life following the loss of his close friend, Jason A. “Skippy” Simpson. Simpson, a 25-year member of the Woolwich Fire Department, died unexpectedly this past February. He was 40.

The selectmen appeared surprised by McCarren’s resignation.   

“We’ll accept your resignation with regret,” Selectmen’s Chairman David King Sr. commented, thanking McCarren for his service. “We appreciate all you’ve done for the community.”

McCarren said the duties of fire chief required a great deal of time, often keeping him away from home several nights a week and weekends for meetings and training sessions. Last year the fire department responded to 152 calls. Since the last selectmen’s meeting, the fire department had assisted at a motor vehicle accident and responded to the scene of a lightning strike. 

After voting unanimously to accept McCarren’s resignation “with regret,” selectmen appointed Domenic Maccio acting fire chief for a term of 60 days, or until a new fire chief is hired. Maccio and other officers from the Woolwich Fire Dept. were in attendance. Maccio offered to fill-in after King asked for a volunteer among the officers to act as chief during the search process.

The selectmen’s next course of action will be to advertise for a new fire chief. They’ll hold a workshop on Aug. 3 before their regular meeting to discuss forming a search committee.

The fire chief’s position is a three-year term. McCarren was last appointed in January 2010.

Reached for comment after the meeting, King said he understood McCarren’s reason for resigning. “It’s a lot of responsibility. He’s down there at the fire station three or four nights a week. He’s also running the landscaping business, plowing snow in the winter and raising a family.”

King said the search committee charged with hiring a new fire chief would likely consist of one or two members of the fire department, a selectman, one citizen-at-large and possibly a fire chief from out of town. “We’ll determine the committee’s makeup at the workshop,” he added.

Selectman Jason Shaw said after the meeting that he personally thanked McCarren for his service.

“Geoff’s served as our fire chief for eight years. He’s done a very good job and I told him so,” Shaw said Tuesday morning. “He brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the fire department and overall under his leadership the department has run very smoothly. I’m sorry to see him go, but I can understand his reasons; it’s very time consuming.”

Selectman Allison Hepler told the newspaper she’ll miss McCarren. “He's always been very patient with my learning curve, as a new selectperson, about what it takes to run a municipal fire department.”

The fire chief’s responsibilities include overseeing the town’s EMS department. The position pays a yearly stipend of $7,284. The fire chief and other members of the department are paid $10 per hour when responding to a call.