Bedford Fire Chief Kevin MacCaffrie will retire effective Jan. 18, to pursue a chief’s position in the Londonderry N.H. fire department, after spending the last seven years as chief in Bedford.

Before joining the Bedford Fire Department, which was his first job as chief, on Sept. 11, 2000, MacCaffrie spent 25 years as a full-time firefighter in Norton, and was a call fire fighter for 9 years before that.

“The one thing about the town of Bedford is that it is a very easy town to work in,” MacCaffrie said. “People got involved and helped out from top to bottom, which made the transition from Norton to Bedford very easy. And, the transition out will be very easy. I will miss everyone here.”

In retiring to accept a job in another state, MacCaffrie will be able to collect full retirement pension, as well as his salary at his new job.

This is nothing new to Bedford, said Town Manager Rick Reed when he informed selectmen earlier this month about the chief’s decision.

“When someone gets to the point where they have maximized their pension benefit, it’s not unusual for someone to consider retirement,” Reed said. “Not only could they go out of state, but they could also work for a private company.”

The first decision in terms of filling the vacancy will be who will serve in an acting capacity, said Reed. While the chief does not have any decision-making authority on the matter, any input he offers will be taken into consideration.

Being chief in Londonderry will present MacCaffrie with a different challenge, and not just because every state has different fire prevention laws. Londonderry is a larger community than Bedford, and MacCaffrie will be responsible for three stations and 40 personnel. Also, the Manchester Boston Regional Airport is partially in Londonderry, so Londonderry FD services the airport for EMS protection.

MacCaffrie said he has been eligible to retire for a while, and took this opportunity because he was able to “get something a little bigger” and closer to his retirement home in Bristol, N.H.

Growing up in Norton, MacCaffrie, his father and his brother were all call firefighters at the neighborhood fire station.

“Working with them was different, to say the least,” MacCaffrie said. “When the tones went off, we all got up at the same time. Whoever could get there the fastest would drive.”

MacCaffrie fought his first fire at age 16. He was released from high school to hop on a truck headed for the fire in the old library at Wheaton College, “which was a major event at that time,” MacCaffrie said.

His most memorable fire in Bedford was the 2004 blaze at a 9,000 square foot home on Harvard Drive, which MacCaffrie said caused close to $2 million in damage.

Other highlights of his time in Bedford include working with the Council on Aging on the Elder Watch Program, as well as upgrading all of the department’s equipment to the newest standard and improving the town’s ISO rating from a 5 to a 4.

MacCaffrie said he planned on retiring in 2009, but this opportunity came along and “fortunately I was selected for the job.”