Nov. 8—GOSHEN — As the clock approached 6 p.m. Friday, Goshen Fire Chief Dan Sink signed off on the dispatch for the final time.
“Effective immediately, I am transferring command,” Sink paused to hold back tears as he spoke over a live scanner feed at the Goshen Theater, “of the Goshen Fire Department to Assistant Chief Anthony Powell, who has been assigned as our new fire chief.”
A new leader, former Assistant Chief Anthony Powell, took his place.
“We’ll take it from here, chief,” Powell told Sink, while online for the community to hear.
“Don’t worry, chief,” the dispatcher responded.
Powell was officially named Goshen’s next fire chief during the Change of Command Ceremony held Friday evening at the Goshen Theater.
“This moment marks an important milestone in my career and provides a profound opportunity to serve in new ways in both our community and our department,” said Powell. “I am fully committed to meeting the high expectations this position brings.”
Goshen Mayor Gina Leichty said at the ceremony that Powell began his fire service with the Middlebury Fire Department, accompanying his grandfather, a volunteer firefighter, to the station as a young teenager. One day, Leichty said, a firefighter asked Powell if he wanted to hang around or go to work. Powell eventually transferred to the Goshen Fire Department, where he served for the past twenty years as a volunteer, paramedic, shift instructor, fire investigator, sergeant, lieutenant, training chief and most recently assistant fire chief.
The ceremony was as much a celebration of Sink as it was a celebration of Powell’s new position.
Sink commanded the Goshen Fire Department for 19 years after first joining the force in 1981. Sink was appointed fire chief by former Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman in 2005 and served alongside former Mayor Jeremy Stutsman and current Mayor Leichty. This year, Sink was recognized with the Indiana Fire Chief of the Year Award and the EMS Directors Award.
“He’s a legend in his own time, and if you meet him just once, you’ll understand why,” Stutsman said. “Chief, you have been by my side through some of the most challenging times and I can honestly say that I could not have been mayor without you.”
Stutsman recalled the support during the 2018 flood, 2019’s extreme cold, winter storms, major gas leaks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
