Administration
Rich Kindelan
Fire Chief | Car 1
Rich is a US Air Force veteran who served active duty as a fire protection specialist for four years. Rich also spent four years as a firefighter at the Loring Development Authority in Northern Maine, and served five years as a firefighter at the Brunswick Naval Air Station. In 2006 he joined the Gardner Fire Department as a Paramedic Firefighter serving at the rank of Captain. In Gardner, Rich served as the department’s training officer as well as the Safety and BLS Compliance Officer. In 2013 Rich was hired as a Deputy Chief of the Yarmouth Fire Department where he was responsible for the administration of Fire and EMS Operations and also served as Yarmouth’s Emergency Management Director. In Yarmouth Rich had the opportunity to command several significant incidents including the explosion that did extensive damage to a residential neighborhood near the fire station. Richard’s wide breadth of experience creating and managing budgets; planning for and executing very large mass gathering events like the Yarmouth Clam Festival and Revolution 3 Triathlon in OOB last summer; his work in emergency management; and his extensive command and control of significant emergency incident scenes will provide him a solid foundation to hit the ground running here in Scarborough. In addition to his well-developed management skills and abilities, Rich brings a very personable and professional demeanor to his work. He has earned the respect and admiration of the crews and colleagues wherever he has served. Rich took over as Fire Chief after Chief Thurlow retired in January 2022.
Kevin Duross
Deputy Chief | Car 2
Kevin is an 18-year veteran of the Biddeford Fire Department where he had been serving as Deputy Chief since 2012. Kevin was also an active Scarborough per-diem firefighter/paramedic from 2005-2012. He is also well-known amongst the fire service in the southern Cumberland, Northern York county fire service area. Kevin brings a tremendous list of qualifications including an AAS in Paramedicine, Advanced Fire Officer certifications, Fire Instructor, Health and Safety, and many more. His well-rounded training and education show a clear “all hazards” focus. Kevin is a skilled incident commander and thoughtful fire/EMS service advocate.
Ian Tenney
Deputy Chief | Car 3
Ian is from the City of Hartford, Ct. where he was serving as a District Chief. His responsibilities included an on-duty staff of 41 responding from 6 fire stations located in a primarily urban environment. Recently, Ian also served as acting Assistant Chief for Operations for Hartford Fire Department. Ian has a Bachelors in public administration along with a litany of other advanced certifications. As a Program Director at the Connecticut Fire Academy, Ian brings a strong passion for training and education with a focus on developing personnel under his command. Ian also serves on the SMCC Fire Science Advisory Group and is intimately familiar with the student live-in program. Ian is living in Gorham with his wife.
John Brennan
Deputy Chief | Car 4
John has over 25 years of fire and emergency service experience with an impressive progression through his long career. In December of 1999, John started his career with Scarborough as a per-diem firefighter. In November of 2000, John then started as a full-time firefighter with the city of Portland. John was promoted to Lieutenant with Portland Fire Department in June of 2011 and was promoted to Captain in January of 2017 and shortly thereafter, was assigned to Portland’s Fire Prevention Bureau and then subsequently assigned as the Captain in command of Portland’s RESCUE 1. In May of 2021, John was promoted to the rank of Captain with the Scarborough Fire Department and agreed to take over our Fire Prevention Bureau on a part-time basis while still working his full-time job in Portland. He left his full time career position in Portland and was promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief in Scarborough on June 27, 2022.
Wes Merritt
District Chief - Call Company | Car 5
Wes started his firefighting career with the Raymond, ME Volunteer Fire Dept. in October 1974. He moved to Cape Elizabeth in 1979 and served with the Cape Elizabeth Fire Dept. and briefly with Yarmouth FD. He also served as a part-time Public Safety Dispatcher in Cape Elizabeth from 1982 to 1996. In November, 1985, Wes joined the Scarborough Fire Dept. Engine 1, Ladder 2, & Marine 1 Company at Black Point. He served there as Firefighter, Lieutenant, and Captain. Currently, Wes serves as the Call Company Deputy for Station 1 at Black Point, Station 3 at Pleasant Hill , and Station 7 at Oak Hill. He is also charged with recruitment of call company personnel for the department, and the administration’s liaison with the Extrication Team. Deputy Merritt holds an EMT license and is certified at the Haz-Mat Technician Level. Wes is employed as a full-time Scarborough public safety dispatcher. He is married, and has a son.
Gary Sandler
District Chief - Call Company | Car 6
Gary started his firefighting career with the Scarborough Fire Department in 1985. He has worked his way up through the ranks from Firefighter, to Lieutenant and then to Captain of the Engine 4 Pine Point Fire Company, serving in that capacity for 12 years until his promotion. Gary was promoted to Deputy Chief in July 2007 and currently serves Engine 4-Pine Point, Engine 5-North Scarborough, and Engine 6-Dunstan Station. Gary currently supervises the Training Division, Radio System, Marine units and is the Fire Investigation/Safety Liaison and the Fire Police Liaison . He is FF I+II certified and is an Emergency Medical Technician. Gary has specialized training in Haz-Mat Command and Vehicle Extrication He also is an Ice Water Rescue Technician, Haz-Mat Technician and is active with the Presumpscot Valley Haz-Mat Team. Gary lives in town with his wife Erin who is one of Scarborough's Full-Time Firefighter/Paramedics.