By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  When Lesley Heaton reported for work at the Lime Rock Fire District’s Station 1 (Great Road) at about 8:15 a.m., Tuesday, the tax collector/office manager immediately noticed the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee.

Minutes later, treasurer Christine Wood entered and discovered the building toasty warm.
With those simple observations, the two longtime employees grinned, “Yup, Frank’s back!”
They, of course, referred to LRFD Chief Frank Sylvester, who -- after spending the last three months as the state fire marshal -- chose to return to his old stomping grounds to close his illustrious career.
“Of course, we all wanted him back, and it’s because we have him trained so well,” Wood laughed at the “new” chief’s gestures of making coffee and repositioning the thermostat on his first official day back. “We’ve trained him well. If you use that in the paper, that would be no surprise to him. We’ve told him that quite often.”
Sylvester, who turned 74 on his final day (Feb. 15) at the Cranston Street Armory headquarters, stunned some colleagues when he broke the news on Feb. 5 he would leave his position to return as Lime Rock’s chief. The reasons: He missed his “people in Lincoln,” as he had been inundated with phone calls from not only residents but his Board of Fire Commissioners requesting such.
Those are facts, but there was another more pressing reason.
When he took over on Nov. 26, he had a number of goals he wanted to accomplish, among them beginning construction of a new state fire academy, purchasing new uniforms for his aides and filling three new positions on his team.
“I admit I was getting used to it, but then I heard that some layoffs were coming,” he said while leaning forward in his old office chair. “I didn’t appreciate what I was told by the House Finance Committee about four weeks ago. When I first took the job, I was told I would get three new spots -- including two inspectors and an administrative position -- but then I heard they were going to cut three, which would put the staff back to 25.
“That’s another thing that helped me make my final decision,” he added.
Sylvester also promised he was never overwhelmed by his duties..
“My view of this job hasn’t changed, but my view of the state fire marshal’s office and what they do has,” he said. “I was there a week shy of three months, and I saw in my first three weeks five deaths. There were
three who died in Providence of carbon monoxide poisoning, then there was the gentleman who burned to death in his home in East Providence. After that, there was a blind man on the East Side who died of smoke inhalation.
“I’ve got to tell you, it was a very busy operation over there, but nothing that surprised me,” he continued. “They have limited resources, and it’s disappointing I couldn’t do more for them.”
When asked what they were, he mentioned those new uniforms for marshals, investigators and inspectors; a new state marshal’s office; and, obviously, a state-of-the-art academy in Exeter.
“I didn’t get a new permanent home done, and I feel sorry for that; The Armory is outdated, no question, but at least it’s a home,” he offered. “Are we going to stay there? I don’t think so, but -- with the budgetary problems -- who knows when?
“We did make some headway with the academy, but I was hoping to get a shovel in the ground while there, and didn’t,” he added. “That wasn’t just my goal, but also the Governor’s. And there were seven vacancies when I took the position, and I was looking to fill three. I couldn’t fill any because of the budgetary hearings.
“It wasn’t overwhelming to me. It just wasn’t my comfort zone, and this is.”

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Sylvester, for 23 years a Pawtucket firefighter and the last 18 as the district’s head honcho, admitted he felt relief at “coming home” -- despite the fact he felt he accomplished plenty at the Armory in that short time.
In fact, he received a citation indicating how he aided in improvements to equipment; tried to professionalize and identify the office to the public; and, allegedly, how current employees will retain their positions.
“It feels good to get back in the swing of things,” he said. “When I came in, besides the coffee, I did a ‘walk-through’ with my assistant chief, Arthur Jacques, who did a bang-up job. We checked on all sorts of things, but I can honestly say I haven’t got much done here (Tuesday). I’ve had a lot of people come in and congratulate me, saying ‘Glad to have you back.’
“I’m glad I came in (Monday, a holiday),” he added. “I was here about two hours; I had to clean up my computer, which had 110 messages, and I deleted most of them. Then I went up the stairs to the firefighters’ quarters, and had a coffee with those on duty. I wanted to catch up.”
Sylvester chose to take the state fire marshal’s position at Carcieri’s behest back in October, and experienced his first day on Nov. 26, all the while understanding his Board of Commissioners had given him a three-month leave of absence.
Sylvester said he had nothing to do with that.
“They figured, at least a couple of the commissioners did, that I’d be back, and chairman Joe Garvey was one of them,” he stated.
Garvey wasn’t alone.
“I’m relieved; it takes a lot more pressure off me,” said Jacques, a Pawtucket native who has worked here since 1980. “I had a feeling he would return to Lime Rock from Day One. We’re pretty close, and we both knew it was a lot of work because I was doing my job and his. I would like to thank the board and the chief for giving me the opportunity, but his return has lightened my load.
“Would I like the job someday? Sure, but his heart has always been here. I could tell when I saw him smiling (Tuesday). When he came in, I said, ‘Hey, look, you’re uniform still fits.”
It won’t be an easy transition, Sylvester said, as he now prepares his personnel of 31 firefighters (19 full-time and 12 “paid-on-call”) for possible “24/7” operation at Twin River, not to mention today’s arrival of a new $385,000 fire engine, which will be housed at Station 2 near the casino.
“We have to outfit it with equipment from the other engine here at Station 1,” Sylvester said. “The old one will be traded in to get money for the new one. I also have to worry about details at Twin River, if it goes non-stop.”
With the phones ringing off the work and duties built up after the long weekend, he claimed there were no emotional exchanges.
“There were no hugs or kisses from Lesley or Christine,” he grinned. “It’s just business as usual. The guys here seemed happy to see me.”
The feeling was more than mutual.