Fall River Fire Chief Roger St. Martin marks end of career Friday after nearly 37 years of service

It is the end of an era at the Fall River Fire Department.

On Friday, Fire Chief Roger St. Martin looked on as several FRFD apparatus and area fire chiefs saluted his retirement after almost 37 years of service to The City of Fall River.

St. Martin 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.

St Martin’s tenure as interim chief began with one of the more difficult fires in recent memory on Irving Street where personnel had to deal with icy conditions and frigid temperatures while the three-decker suffered an 80% collapse.

IAFF L-1314 Fall River Firefighters made it clear Friday that St. Martin has undoubtedly left his mark on the members of the union and department that will last long beyond today.

In late January, the Fall River City Council unanimously approved Mayor Paul Coogan’s selection to replace St. Martin, current Fall River District Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon.

Bacon, who is a Fall River native and lives in Somerset, 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.