The Minnehatta Fire Co. in Nobleboro voted to oust Fire Chief Woodbury McLean on June 14, according Dick Spear, the chairman of the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen. Assistant Chief Ryan Gallagher is currently serving as acting chief.
“There were personal reasons that they were upset with [McLean],” Spear said. “They didn’t feel he was doing the job right.”
Neither McLean nor Gallagher could be reached for comment.
The selectmen officially swore Ryan Gallagher in as Nobleboro Fire Chief at their regular meeting on June 23, although he has not committed to taking the position long term, Spear said.
The fire department will choose a permanent replacement at their monthly meeting in early July, Spear said.
McLean’s removal from his position follows a string of incidents that have marked his tenure since he was elected fire chief in January.
Those incidents culminated in the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen sending a letter on April 15 to every member of the fire department asking them to “find a solution” to the various problems.
Prior to that letter, the state suspended McLean’s driver’s license for failure to make child support payments, and the selectmen subsequently ordered him not to drive any town vehicles.
McLean also had a Protection From Abuse order filed against him by a 29-year-old female Bristol firefighter. The court granted the PFA based on the woman’s allegations that McLean continued to text message and call her after she told him she wanted to stop their relationship because she felt he was too controlling.
