The head of the Chilmark fire department is set to retire next year after more than 30 years of service. 

Fire Chief Jeremy Bradshaw said this week he will be stepping down in February, and the select board is working on starting the search process. Prior to taking on the chief’s role in 2019, Mr. Bradshaw was a longtime volunteer firefighter and also served as assistant fire chief. 

After seven years in the top role, he said it was time to bring in new leadership. 

“Nothing drastic, but just time to retire,” he said to the Gazette Monday morning.  

Mr. Bradshaw grew up coming to the Island “hanging around the jetties in Vineyard Haven” and moved here full time in the 1990s. He said he is proud to leave the department in good hands. 

“I feel happy [with] the way it’s gone the last seven years, the support of the town and we got great volunteers. I’m very lucky,” he said. 

One of the challenges for the next chief will be keeping a full firefighter roster. The entire fire department, besides the chief, is made up of volunteer staff. 

Mr. Bradshaw noted that while he has been lucky with the number of volunteers in town willing to serve the department, the numbers have dwindled.

“It’s getting harder and harder,” he said. “There’s more put on the volunteers now, between training and all the stuff that’s mandatory now... It’s a lot. We’re getting less and less people, so we got to get creative.” 

He said that a wave of new volunteers has come from the younger generation, specifically from the Brazilian community.  

“We have so many great young kids in the Brazilian community, they’re willing to help out, but a lot of times in the past, they haven’t really felt welcome,” Chief Bradshaw said. “Now, a lot of the departments are opening up opportunities for them. I think that’s going to be a real plus [for] the future for the volunteers.” 

The Chilmark select board is scheduled to speak about the next steps of the hiring process at its meeting Tuesday. The goal is to have a new chief start by Jan. 15 to ensure a smooth training process, according to Mr. Bradshaw. 

Before serving in the department, he served in the U.S. Navy, where he first received his fire training. When he moved to the Island, he painted houses and later went on to start the Martha’s Vineyard Tile Company. 

Chief Bradshaw had suffered a hand injury recently while on duty, leaving him unsure about his retirement plans.

“I will have to find something that I don’t need to use my [hands for],” he said. “I’ll be doing something else and not have to wake up early in the morning.” 

He urged residents to continue backing the people who volunteer for the department.  

“Support your volunteer system, especially EMS and fire,” he said. “And a shout out to the sheriff’s department, because they’ve been instrumental in support of Chilmark. It’s been a pleasure.”