Mire brothers want to be new fire chief of Abbeville

In 2014, the city of Abbeville will have a new fire chief and his last name will be Mire.
On Dec. 31, 2013, the retirement of fire chief Elvin Michaud Jr. will become official. Michaud has taken his accrued vacation days to finish out his career with Abbeville.
Acting as interim fire chief while Michaud has been on vacation for this past year is Matt Suire, who was an assistant fire chief.
When Michaud officially retires on Dec. 31, the Abbeville City Council has to name a permanent fire chief. They have two months to name one after Jan. 1. Suire was expected to be named as the permanent fire chief barring one last hurdle he had to overcome.
To become a fire chief, a fireman has to pass a fire chief exam. So, in November, Suire, along with Abbeville assistant fire chief Jude Mire and Captain Kelly Mire, took the fire chief exam.
Last week the three got their test results and two passed, while one did not.
The Mire brothers both made a score of 87 out of 100, while Suire made a 70 (75 is passing).
According to the law, because Suire did not pass the fire chief exam, he is not qualified to be named fire chief. Suire, at the city council meeting on Tuesday, said it was his fault because he did not pass the test.
Sitting in the back row at the city council meeting were Jude and Kelly Mire. They were waiting to see what the city council planned to do about naming a new fire chief.
Next month the city council will interview the two brothers and name one the fire chief.
The Mires have a combined 50 years experience with the Abbeville Fire Department. Both said they took the fire chief exam in hopes of one day being named the fire chief in Abbeville.
Now, one of them will. Will there be any hard feelings between the two after one is named and the other is not? The two brothers said there is no hard feelings between each other and both will be happy with whoever is named the fire chief.
Both men said Chief Michaud has raised the level of the department, and they just want to keep the bar high and try to raise it even higher.
One thing is known, however. Whenever a new chief is named, Suire will drop down to assistant fire chief. If Jude Mire is named the new fire chief, Suire will slip into Jude Mire’s assistant fire chief slot and Kelly Mire remains a captain. If Kelly is named fire chief, Jude Mire slips back down to the rank of Captain and Suire is one of three assistant fire chiefs.