Chief Michael Bender’s been protecting his community since 1985.
Feb 03, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Choco-Latté Café.
MOUNT DESERT—Three a.m. calls, horses that fell through barn floors, countless fires and trainings and rescues and mentorships, and now, after forty years in fire service, Mount Desert Fire Chief Michael Bender has turned in his resignation.
“This decision to retire was not an easy one, as my passion for the fire service is as strong now as when I began this journey in 1985. It is hard to let go of a profession that has been an integral part of my life for the past 40 plus years. However, I am very confident that the command of the Mount Desert Fire Department will remain in capable hands,” Chief Bender wrote in his January 27 letter to the town’s selectboard.
The chief expects his last day to be November 2, 2026. The Benders are a staple in the Mount Desert Island community. Michael married Marcia J. Tracy, both graduated from Mount Desert Island High School. Chief Bender was a member of the United States Air Force and the two resided in San Antonio, Texas, when they were first married.
Chief Bender has been part of the fire community and Mount Desert community, particularly in Seal Harbor, for decades, and they raised a family here. Prior to being the Mount Desert Fire Chief, he was the chief in Seal Harbor.
“It’s hard to accept,” said Mount Desert Selectboard member Rodney King.
“Move acceptance with lots of thanks and good luck,” Vice Chair Wendy Littlefield said.
“Ditto,” agreed Chair John Macauley.
Former Police Chief Jim Willis worked with Chief Bender for almost two decades and spoke to Chief Bender’s focus, motivation, and friendship.
“Many years ago, Mike and I arrived at an active structure fire together, he was in an engine and me in a cruiser. After about 30 seconds we both realized nobody else was coming, back then there weren’t enough volunteers. In his turnout gear, Mike told me he couldn’t not do anything, he had to do something, I said I’d help if he told me what to do, and we began to get things ready together for when a crew did arrive. It wasn’t too long before other firemen came and they took care of things.”
“When he took over, the Fire Department was still normalizing being one entity instead of a bunch of separate village-based departments with separate chiefs. It was clear from the beginning that Mike was accepted as chief by the volunteers, something that had been missing (previously),” Willis said.
Together, they attended meeting after meeting, including a series connected to the town’s public protection committee.
“During those meetings I began to hear Mike’s plan for growing the agency into a well-staffed and equipped department the community could depend on,” Chief Willis said. “In the beginning, I thought some of it was a bit aggressive due to money involved. At times leaders measure their success in terms of how much money they don’t spend. Not Mike, he knew what was needed, stuck to his plan, and pretty soon it started to happen. Fire trucks began to get replaced according to a funded CIP when they should be rather than when people finally gave up and bought one.”
According to newspaper reports from the time, Bender was appointed interim chief, initially working 24 hours a week, after the resignation of Chief Merrill Naylor in 2001. Chief Bender had acted as chief multiple times when Naylor, who was a member of the Air Force Reserves, was deployed. News reports at the time explained that the town had combined four volunteer departments covering its villages at the time. More than 20 applied for Chief Naylor’s position, a man from Orland was hired, but left the position by 2005.
That’s when Chief Bender was hired. Under his care, the department has combined with the ambulance service and grown to include two captains, two lieutenants, multiple paramedics and firefighter/AEMTs and firefighter/EMTs and firefighter/paramedics.
In March 2000, the town had voted to combine its four volunteer departments and hire a chief.
“Next, the full-time staff came along,” Willis said. “At first Mike was the only one who worked full time; there wasn’t really even an office for him. When I retired, they were just finishing up on the brand-new fire station in Northeast Harbor and the Somesville station was serving as the department’s home while construction was underway in Northeast Harbor.”
Part of what makes Chief Bender, Willis said, was something else, too: an ability to work with other towns and departments and people.
“Sometimes small-town agencies can become silos and not interact with other agencies. Again, Mike showed great leadership by building excellent relationships with the Bar Harbor Fire Department,” Willis said.
Sometimes, when they were both chiefs in town, things would go astray with the town’s communications systems.
“We encountered a lot of complications routinely and even when firemen couldn’t talk on a radio because something had gone wrong, my phone would ring and Mike would say, ‘You got a minute.’ I’d always say yes and he’d say, ‘I’ll be right over,’ hang up, come to my office and we’d catch up and figure things out together. I miss those days, as hard as they could be,” Willis said. “Mike’s smile and reassurance are things I could count on.”
Even when long-time volunteer firemen were winding down, Chief Bender found pathways for soft landings.
“I’d see those guys at the fire station for a long time after they ‘retired,’ talking with Mike and checking out the new equipment,” Willis said. “I guess the theme here is that Mike is a good chief, leader, and person. He is highly competent, respected in the field, and I’m better for having the chance to work with and get to know him. We had a lot of private conversations, talking about our kids, helping each other get through whatever was coming up and I consider him a good friend.”
Willis is not the only one who thinks of Chief Bender that way and it’s clear that Chief Bender thinks that way about his department and his community, too.
In his letter, Chief Bender wrote, “I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to the officers and staff for their unwavering support, loyalty, and dedication to our department. Their commitment has not only made my job as chief more fulfilling but has also greatly contributed to the safety and well-being of our community.”
Unless otherwise specified, photos Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story.
Disclosure: I was a part-time emergency services dispatcher in Mount Desert and worked with Chief Bender. Similarly, for a very short period of time, I was an on-call firefighter in Bar Harbor, which also involved mutual aid events with the chief.
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