RUMFORD — A dedication and open house was held Saturday morning at the new Rumford Fire Station in honor of Peter Chase.

Chase, a former deputy fire chief and town Select Board member, died Aug. 25, 2022.

The ceremony, held under misty skies outside the entrance to 61 Falmouth St., included U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who secured $1 million in congressionally-directed spending to support the construction of the new station.

The cost of the new station was reported to be about $6 million in June 2024.

Select Board Chairman Chris Brennick recognized Collins, saying that without her efforts to secure the money “this fire station may not have been built.”

Town Manager George O’Keefe noted that the building, now known as Chase Station, was 40 years in the making.

The old fire station on Congress Street was built in 1923.

Brennick spoke about Chase, who rose through the ranks to become a deputy chief.

“What was most telling to me about Peter was that he became a training officer and Hazmat instructor,” Brennick said. “To Peter, the job was about more than just putting out fires. It was about enabling others to be successful.”

He said Chase, as a member of the Rumford Planning Board, Charter Commission and Select Board, “worked on the behalf of the betterment of the town as a whole.”

“I cannot think of a better way to honor him than to dedicate this station to carry on his legacy of service and leadership,” Brennick said.

Collins said that through his service, Chase dedicated himself to his community. “This is a wonderfully touching way to mark what would have been Peter’s 72nd birthday.”

She also congratulated Peter’s son, Bob, “for carrying on your father’s legacy in Auburn (as fire chief), and for your recognition as the 2024 Maine Fire Chief of the Year.”

That was followed by applause from more than 100 people looking on from the station parking lot.

Collins said the new station is “an outstanding example of a great Maine community joining together to plan and build for the future, while paying tribute to exceptional community members and public servants like Peter.”

Bob Chase began by thanking town officials, on behalf of the large Chase family in attendance, for honoring his father, and Sen. Collins for her support of the fire service.

He noted something his dad said every Easter and Thanksgiving: “Take all you want but eat all that you take.”

“As we reflected on it the other night around the campfire, we think it had a lot more meaning in the way he lived his life and his approach to life,” Bob Chase said. “Take as much as you want from life, but if you commit to it, fully commit. See it through the end. It was a metaphor for dedication, accountability and commitment.”

Throughout his career at the Fire Department, Peter Chase had been involved on multiple committees to try get a new fire station, his son said.

“He would be so proud to see what’s happening here today,” Bob Chase said. “He was so excited when this building was approved, and I think that was really the signifying event of him finally meeting that final commitment that he made.”

Members of the Chase family, town officials, Collins and the River Valley Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion, with Peter’s widow, Rhonda Chase, doing the honors of cutting the ribbon.

The invocation was given by the Rev. Aaron Damboise, pastor of the Parish of the Holy Savior in Rumford.

Also attending were state Sen. Joseph Martinm,R-Rumford, and state Rep. Rachel Henderson, R-Rumford.

Following the ceremony, people toured the facility.