• Former Chief Rick Donovan passes the chief's helmet to incoming chief Bob Faas.
    Former Chief Rick Donovan passes the chief’s helmet to incoming chief Bob Faas. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript
  • Brittany Fahey is pinned with a Deputy EMS Chief badge.
    Brittany Fahey is pinned with a Deputy EMS Chief badge. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript
  • Rick Donovan receives his retirement brass from new Fire Chief Bob Faas.
    Rick Donovan receives his retirement brass from new Fire Chief Bob Faas. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript
  • Former Deputy Ambulance Chief Deb Douglas receives her retirement brass from new Fire Chief Bob Faas.
    Former Deputy Ambulance Chief Deb Douglas receives her retirement brass from new Fire Chief Bob Faas. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript
  • Brittany Fahey, Bob Faas and Andrew Leger with their new badges.
    Brittany Fahey, Bob Faas and Andrew Leger with their new badges. Credit: ASHLEY SAARI / Ledger-Transcript

It was an official passing of the torch — or rather, the iconic white fire chief’s helmet — during a pinning ceremony for new Rindge Fire Department top brass on Friday evening.

Bob Faas was pinned as the new chief, including a ceremony where retired chief Rickard Donovan passed Faas the white helmet denoting the chief. It was also a promotion ceremony, where Brittany Fahey was pinned as the new deputy EMS chief, and Andrew Leger was pinned as the deputy fire chief.

“Leadership in the fire service is not about position, it’s about service,” said emcee Lynda Hunt. “We have full confidence that each of you is prepared to meet that responsibility. Tonight, we celebrate leadership, commitment and continuity.”

The fire crew also said good-bye to the outgoing Director of Life and Public Safety and Fire Chief Rickard Donovan and Ambulance Deputy Chief Deb Douglas, who retired in a joint ceremony in January, by presenting them formally with pins for their uniform to represent their retired status.

Faas, in a short speech to the assembled crowd, thanked Donovan, Douglas, and also outgoing Deputy Fire Chief Chris Hill for their service to the organization, and thanked all of the officers on the department, current and upcoming.

“I want to take a moment to thank all of you for coming out to support us for this important occasion, which is a long time coming for a lot of us,” Faas said.

The ceremony was followed by a reception at the Rindge Meetinghouse.