City Council approves new Fall River fire chief with Roger St. Martin set to retire

The Fall River City Council approved a new fire chief with the current chief set to retire.

Tuesday, council members unanimously approved Mayor Paul Coogan’s selection, current Fall River District Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon, with Chief Roger St. Martin set to retire on February 10th according to the Fire Union.

Bacon, who is from Somerset, was the lone member of the department listed on the State of Massachusetts promotion list.

St. Martin, who has served the department for nearly 37 years, took over as permanent chief in February of 2022 after becoming interim chief at the end of January of that year. St. Martin replaced John Lynch who was a 35-year veteran of the department and replaced Chief Robert Viveiros.

According to Captain Eric Caffrey, St. Martin previously served in the Navy before joining the department in July of 1987. He became a Lieutenant in 1997, Captain in 2004, District Chief in 2010 and Deputy/Fire Marshal in 2016. He helped the department secure grants, increase staffing, and currently serves as an academy instructor.

Bacon, who is a Fall River native, will take over on February 11th. Many members of the department were present at the council meeting in support of Bacon. Caffrey stated that Bacon became Lieutenant in 2006, Captain in 2009, and District Chief in 2014.