After working his way up over the years, Dennis Comeau was set to be officially sworn in as the fire chief in Bow during a ceremony Thursday night.

Comeau has been with the Bow Fire Department since 2019, starting out as a firefighter and then becoming a captain.

Following Chief Eliot Berman’s retirement at the end of last year, Comeau stepped in as acting chief in January. By the third week of February, he was appointed as official chief.

“Bow is an incredible little town. It is much like the town in Massachusetts I grew up in, and I feel connected to its citizens,” said Comeau, referring to Salisbury, Mass.

“The town has been very supportive of our department. They’ve done a lot to ensure we’re always growing, have the equipment and resources we need, and are always willing to listen when new needs arise,” he added.

Firefighting was not always his career path.

Before becoming a firefighter, Comeau spent 15 years working at the Merrill Fay Arena in Laconia, first as an assistant manager and then as a general manager. It wasn’t until he was 35 that he decided to pursue a career in firefighting.

“I was a midlife crisis fireman,” Comeau admitted.

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Throughout his youth, he had been a team sport athlete through college. As he grew older and that aspect of his life faded, he still wanted a similar team dynamic.

“Joining the fire service allowed me to operate in a team environment that was lacking in my life at the time and something that I was familiar with and drew comfort from,” said Comeau.

So he started by volunteering at the local fire station in Laconia, working as a firefighter there for seven years. He then joined the Gilmanton Fire Department as a call member for 15 years.

For Comeau, the best part of being a firefighter is waking up every day to work with a great group of like-minded individuals who are good to each other and work together as a team to create a better community.

“You leave situations better than you find them. You're a part of something that's bigger than yourself,” said Comeau. “It's  hard to put into words why we are public servants.”

There are also heartwarming moments on the job that he treasures.

One such moment occurred about three years ago when Comeau and his team delivered a healthy baby in the back of a fire truck.  With three firefighters and two paramedics, they successfully assisted in the birth between the Bow fire station and Concord Hospital, a distance of four and a half miles.

“We managed to be the first eyeballs that this youngster laid his eyes on,” Comeau recalled. “It was a good morning.”

Alongside Comeau, firefighters Jennifer Sole, Chris Conary, and Jonathan McDonald were also set to be sworn in during the ceremony.

As Comeau officially takes up this new role he acknowledged that the most challenging part of any fire chief is “making sure that all the kids are playing nicely in the sandbox.”

“A group of very alpha folks that all work together in close quarters and live with each other. Sometimes, brothers and sisters fight,” he said.