Cumberland rescue director will leave to take same post in Lincoln

LINCOLN — Sean Thompson will be leaving his position as rescue director in Cumberland to take over the same position in Lincoln, Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond announced this week.

Thompson will be starting in his new role on July 1 and replacing Ronald Gagne, who is retiring on June 30.

A news release from Almond's office stated, “The Town is grateful for Chief Gagne's many years of dedicated service to the Town of Lincoln and wishes him all the the best in his retirement.”

Gagne was appointed to the Lincoln Rescue Department in

“I’ve lived in the Town of Lincoln for 23 years and the opportunity presented itself.”

—Sean Thompson, who will take over as Lincoln rescue director

1980, rising to the rank of captain and then chief, the latter in 2009.

An interview board consisting of Police Chief Brian Sullivan, Fire Chief Robert Fisher, Human Resources Manager Joanne McManus, and Rhode Island Department

of Health EMS Chief Jason Rhodes selected Thompson as Gagne's replacement.

“I've lived in the Town of Lincoln for 23 years and the opportunity presented itself,” Thompson said of his decision to leave Cumberland, “so I just thought that for the longer term, I thought it'd be a good idea for myself and my family.”

Thompson and his wife,

Amy, have two sons, ages 25 and 11.

Thompson said that in his seven years as director of the Cumberland Rescue Service, he has focused on education, revising policies, and creating one-year, three-year and fiveyear strategies.

“EMS is kind of unique in that it's always growing, it's always changing, it's evolving,” he said. “So at the time there was just a need for direction, and that's something we've been able to do.”

This included implementing a replacement strategy for vehicles and medical equipment that need to be updated.

Shortly after Thompson started, Cumberland Rescue got a grant from the Department of Environmental Management that allowed the department to purchase two new vehicles. In 2014 or 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gave Cumberland Rescue a grant of more than $100,000 for personal protective equipment, through FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

The department was also able to get a new generator through the Community Development Block Grant program and the town Planning Department, Thompson said.

A focus has been on “identifying unique ways to acquire equipment or just identifying co-op opportunities to acquire equipment so that it doesn't impact our budget,” Thompson said. “Just being fiscally responsible is something we've taken pride in.”

As an example, he cited a partnership with J.H. Lynch & Sons in which Cumberland Rescue teaches employees CPR and first aid, and in return, the construction company gives the department equipment.

“He's a great out-of-thebox thinker that certainly proved dividends for the Town of Cumberland,” Mayor Bill Murray said of Thompson. He described Thompson's departure as “a huge, huge loss” and said that Lincoln “has just hit a home run getting a guy like that.”

Murray credited Thompson with restructuring the Cumberland Rescue Department in a way that increases revenue. The town will be looking both within and outside of the department for the next rescue director.

Before coming to Cumberland, Thompson worked for 16 years as a paramedic in Taunton, Mass. He is now enrolled in a bachelor's program for healthcare management at New England Institute of Technology, where he also teaches the paramedic technology program.