Following a few leadership changes at Fire District 1, the department has hired a permanent fire chief. Bradford Ellis, a resident of South Dartmouth, started his new role on Feb. 1.

Chief John Judson stepped down from the role last summer after decided not to renew his contract. He had been fire chief in Padanaram for four years. Soon after, Jake Bettencourt became acting fire chief before stepping down in October. Jeff Costa then became acting chief on Oct. 9 while the search for a permanent chief continued.

Ellis previously worked at the East Milton Station in the Town of Milton. Ellis has a military background, and, after completing civil service exams, he took on leadership roles in firefighting.

He’s worked nearly 30 years at the Milton Fire Department, serving at times as a firefighter, a fire prevention officer, lieutenant and an acting deputy chief. A second generation firefighter, Ellis’ father and uncle served at the Milton department, and his brother, Barry, currently works there.

“It’s in my family – just like everyone down here,” said Ellis. “It’s like going from one family to another.”

Ellis said he was the department’s first fire prevention officer. He drew from programs developed by neighboring towns to help shape the program.

“We knocked down and rebuilt every school in the town, so I was working closely with everybody in the schools,” he said. “I was in the schools doing inspections, fire drills and fire prevention classes.”

He said he’s impressed with the amount of training and education required of firefighters in Dartmouth. After graduating from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, training is ongoing for recruits at the fire department.

“You see the training that they’re doing – these guys are good,” said Ellis. “Everybody is highly trained at what they’re doing and knowledgeable.”

Former Acting Chief Jake Bettencourt, who’s now serving as deputy chief, said that hiring a new chief from outside the department is a first for the station.

“It’s a new horizon for us. When an outsider comes in as a firefighter, they sometimes feel as though it’s difficult to become friends within the system. This is the leader of the department,” said Bettencourt. “This is a first for the department. We’ve never had an outside chief.”

During a group meeting on Sunday, Bettencourt assured the new chief that he would be getting the full support from the firefighters.

“You are receiving some of the finest guys that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. You couldn’t ask for a better team,” he said.