LINCOLN - Richard Andrews, a lifelong firefighter in the Saylesville Fire Department where his father was once chief and his brother serves now as deputy chief, has been named chief of the Albion Fire District, Albion Fire Commission Chairman Michael Allen announced this week.

He'll begin on June 16 but Andrews has already met with the Albion crew and is confident, he said, his move will be an easy transition.

"I've been up there and I had very good cooperation from all the firefighters. They're making it quite comfortable for me," Andrews said.

Andrews, a 1973 graduate of Lincoln High School, was chosen from among several applicants to succeed Chief Richard Petrin whose contract wasn't renewed earlier this year following a series of questions about district expenditures and financial policies raised by a citizens group and citizens themselves at last November's annual meeting.

Since then, with Allen heading the commissioners and new member Michael Napolitano replacing former chairman David Roll, commissioners have also replaced the tax collector and accounting firm.

Richards, 54, who is currently a captain in Saylesville, has 38 years of fire fighting experience, beginning at age 16.

He has an associate's degree in fire science from the Community College of Rhode Island, and has attended courses at the National Fire Academy. He has several certifications including assistant deputy state fire marshal, and fire instructor.

Allen also noted Andrews has wide experience in building inspections, training fire personnel, fire suppression and preparing department budgets.

His dad, Earl Andrews, was chief in Saylesville for 32 years, retiring in 1984. His brother Bruce is the deputy and another brother, Earl Jr. was a Lincoln police officer for 20 years and is now retired.

Andrews lives in Smithfield with his wife Paula. His son Michael, 27, is a firefighter in Central Falls, and his daughter Sarah, 25, works in a doctor's office.

Said Allen, "He has an outstanding background and crucial combination fire department experience working with call, volunteer and full-time firefighters.

"My fellow commissioners and I are very excited about Richard Andrews and feel strongly that Albion will be an excellent fit for him. He has several great ideas on how we can improve our fire department and create more efficiency without sacrificing any service to the community. We think the taxpayers will be very pleased."

Said Allen, "We have spent countless hours moving this department in a new direction and it has been a tremendous amount of work. There are some important key areas that Richard Andrews will be working on. These areas include but are not limited to fire truck maintenance, budget management, utilization of fire station resources, testing for promotion in rank, and management of station personnel."

Richard Andrews spent his entire fire fighting career in the Saylesville Fire Department.

He told The Breeze that Albion and Saylesville fire districts operate similarly with a combination of salaried and on-call volunteers.

The Albion district responded to about 1,000 calls last year compared to Saylesville's 700 calls. The Albion district also has a larger paid staff.

Said Andrews, "I welcome the challenge and am extremely happy in achieving a life-long goal of becoming a fire chief."