The town of Portsmouth, R.I., has selected Jeffrey P. Lynch to be its new fire chief. Lynch will succeed Chief Alan Adams, who plans to retire in December.

Lynch has been a member of the Portsmouth (R.I.) Fire Department for 19 years, serving as deputy chief for the past three. He will head a department of 35 firefighters and staff personnel.

The department protects 17,000 residents in its service area of 23 square miles. It maintains three pumpers, one tower ladder, two ALS rescue vehicles, one brush truck and two boats, and it hosts a mass-casualty incident trailer.