Haskell Promoted to Fire Chief

Rehoboth Assistant Fire Chief Mark Haskell has been promoted to Fire Chief, effective October 1. Haskell will succeed Chief Frank Barresi, who is retiring after serving in the department for 38 years, the past 11 as Chief. “Frank did a lot for this department,” Selectman Rob Johnson said Monday. “He was a great leader. He’s a good friend. Frank put a good department together as far as leadership.”

Johnson said Haskell had the “right attitude” to lead the department. Haskell has been a member of the department for 34 years. “I’ve never heard you complain about anything,” Selectman George Solas told Haskell.

“Rehoboth is a better place moving forward with you here,” said Selectman Lenny Mills.

Chairman Skip Vadnais praised Haskell for his “dedication to a viable call fire department.”

Vadnais noted the Rehoboth Fire Department was unique: “You’ve got third and fourth generation firefighters here. You have whole families that are firefighters. We’re definitely blessed. We don’t use mutual aid very much. We give out probably more mutual aid than we receive.”