Chilmark this week tapped an internal candidate with three decades of experience in fire service to be the town’s next fire chief.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the select board voted to appoint Manuel Rose to replace the retiring Jeremy Bradshaw. Mr. Rose is a deputy fire chief in the department and has been a firefighter since he was a teenager. 

Mr. Rose beat out Tisbury deputy fire chief Marques Rivers for the role after each interviewed with the board on Tuesday. A former Oak Bluffs deputy chief, Mr. Rose said he was excited for this new chapter of his career. 

“I started in the fire service when I was 15.  I was a deputy chief in Oak Bluffs and I came up here about four years ago, and I was asked to try to help out the department,” he said. “I feel like I have a pretty good grasp as to where the department is and to where it needs to be in the next several years.”

Chilmark had been searching for a new chief since October when Chief Bradshaw announced his plans to step down next month. The candidates first went before a screening committee, and drew praise from the select board. 

“We have a couple of excellent candidates, both very experienced and seasoned and know the community, and I just think we’re really lucky in that regard, so it’s not an easy decision,” select board chair Marie Larsen said.  

There was brief deliberation among the board. Select board member Matt Poole, who was also part of the screening committee, walked through parts of each candidate’s interview. 

With Mr. Rivers, he talked about the eloquence of the submitted, written answers to the board’s questions. 

“After some time, from conversation with the board during the interview, he spoke more comfortably, and based on his knowledge and experience, I thought that the interview flowed smoothly and his answers after getting warmed up were generally satisfactory,” Mr. Poole said.  

Mr. Poole said he was impressed by Mr. Rose’s specific recommendations and existing knowledge of the department. 

“Manny was minimally dependent on his written submittal, and expanded on all his topics and themes during the during the actual interview, was able to pull nearly all the information from his head that he had submitted in writing and showed a depth of knowledge in a clear direction of how he would lead the department if chosen.” 

Mr. Rose had nothing but compliments for Mr. Marques, and said he looked forward to working alongside him in the Island fire departments.

“Marques is also a very good friend of mine, so there was a lot of emotion there,” Mr. Rose said. “But [he] and I have grown up together through the fire service, and we’ve always worked together, and we will continue to work together.”