BATH — The City Council issued a proclamation July 2 in honor of former Fire Chief Steve Hinds, who retired in April.

“(I)t was a privilege to serve the folks in Bath and it was an absolute honor for me to be recognized by the City Fathers,” Hinds said Tuesday via email, noting that he was also pleased to receive a city chair.

Born and raised in Bath, Hinds began his firefighting career in Lewiston in 1976, and in 1981 joined the Bath department, where he was promoted to chief in 2002.

The West Bath resident also served as first vice president of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, receiving Level I certification from the organization in 2003.

The month before Hinds’ retirement, the City Council issued a proclamation praising him, Capt. Christopher Cummings, and firefighters Shaun Riley, Clifford Newell and Joseph McCole for their roles in rescuing a man and his 4-year-old son from a burning building on South Street in February.

According to the City Council proclamation, Hinds also received valor decorations for rescues in 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989.

Lauding his work as Bath emergency management director and a United Way representative, his service on Sagadahoc County Triad, and his coaching in several sports, the proclamation added that Hinds “has been seen in numerous locations on dangerously hot summer days hosing down children and dispensing Popsicles to nursery schools and daycare centers.”

Hinds’s “long and productive career of public service to the citizens of Bath has been marked by his integrity and professionalism,” the proclamation added.

In an email last week, Hinds said he’d so far spent his retirement doing small projects around his home and trying to keep up with his five grandchildren.

“I am enjoying every minute of my retirement,” he said.

Lawrence Renaud has replaced Hinds as fire chief.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.