Plymouth Fire Dept. to hire two following sudden resignation

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

The Plymouth Fire Department is moving quickly to fill two vacancies after an unexpected resignation earlier this month, with Fire Chief Steve Holm receiving unanimous approval from the Board of Public Works and Safety to extend employment offers to two candidates.

Chief Holm told the Board during their that on Sunday morning, August 2, an employee suddenly resigned from the department without any prior notice. The timing, while challenging, came with a bit of good fortune. The department was already in the middle of a hiring process and had just wrapped up all testing and interviews with the intention of bringing on one new employee. With the sudden resignation, Holm found himself needing to fill two positions instead of one.

Holm said the department had four very strong candidates already in the pipeline and asked the Board for permission to offer employment to two of them.

The first candidate is Zack Demeester, a paramedic-firefighter coming to Plymouth from the Concord Fire Department. His hire would be a lateral transfer, and he is already enrolled in the pension fund. Holm said Demeester would be a significant addition to the department, particularly because he can immediately step into the role of the paramedic who resigned unexpectedly. That ready-to-work advantage made him an ideal fit for the vacancy.

The second candidate is Zack Fisher, a current volunteer with the Plymouth Fire Department who has been working diligently over the past year to earn his certifications. Fisher first obtained his EMT certification through classes offered by the department and then spent the last year completing his Fire I and Fire II certifications while continuing to serve as a volunteer. His offer of employment is contingent on acceptance into the '77 pension fund.

The Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved Chief Holm's request to offer employment to both candidates, giving the department the green light to move forward with the hires and begin the process of bringing its staffing back to full strength.