Select Board appoints Jeff Lewis as Falmouth Fire Rescue Chief, waives residency requirement temporarily

The Falmouth Select Board on Feb. 23 appointed Jeff Lewis as the town’s next Fire Rescue Chief, and agreed to temporarily waive the department-head residency requirement so Lewis can begin while he arranges to relocate.

Town staff presented the results of a competitive recruitment led by Public Safety Consultants LLC. The town received 35 applications, advanced four finalists to an assessment center, and recommended Lewis based on his operational leadership, emergency-management experience and previous command of urban search-and-rescue operations. "I am truly honored to be considered for appointment as the fire and rescue chief for the town of Falmouth," Lewis told the board, adding he would "collectively leverage the history and successes of the department to ensure that it is the finest agency it can possibly be." (Jeff Lewis, candidate.)

The board asked Lewis about collective bargaining experience and crisis communications. Lewis described being involved in negotiating and adapting to a new collective-bargaining framework in Virginia and said he has public-information (PIO) experience and has handled multiagency responses. Acting Chief Chad Abston was publicly thanked by town staff for his management of recent storm response efforts.

A motion to appoint Lewis and affirm the town manager’s recommendation was moved and seconded; the board approved the appointment by voice vote. The board also voted, by motion and second, to waive the department-head residency requirement for Lewis on a temporary basis; members said the waiver reflects Lewis’s intent to relocate contingent on the appointment. The transcript records the motions and that both carried; detailed vote tallies were not recorded on the audio transcript.

Next steps: Town staff said they will negotiate a start date with Lewis and follow up separately on the residency timetable.