Three BHS Graduates Promoted to Fire Department Captain

Three Bedford Fire Department lieutenants, all Bedford High School graduates who are second-generation town employees, have been promoted to the rank of captain, effective Friday.

David Bauman, Brian Oates, and Scott Ricker advanced based on the results of a civil service written test and assessment center. The appointments were made by Town Manager Matt Hanson.

The three will fill new shift-commander positions established under the most recent collective bargaining agreement. Since there were already two lieutenants in each working group, there won’t be an immediate “pyramid” effect from the promotions, explained Interim Fire Chief Paul Sheehan.

Bauman, a 1988 BHS alumnus, joined the department in 1988 and has been a lieutenant since 2009. He is the son of the late Frank Bauman, who was Bedford’s first recreation director from 1972 to 2002. Bauman’s brother Mike, a lieutenant in the Fire Department, retired earlier this year.

Ricker, a classmate of Bauman’s at BHS, became a Bedford firefighter in 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2010. He is the son of the late Eddie Ricker, a police officer for more than 30 years, including several years as juvenile officer.

Oates, who graduated from BHS in 1997, joined the department in 2002 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2021. For the past 12 years, Oates has served on the District 6 Hazardous Materials Response Team. He is the son of retired Bedford firefighter Bob Oates.

Ricker and Oates are first cousins. Ricker’s cousin Bill, a graduate of Middlesex Community College, is a major in the Atlanta Police Department Criminal Investigations Division serving in the role of Special Enforcement Section Commander.  

All three of the new captains, along with one of the current captains, Mark Sullivan, played high school football at BHS for Head Coach Armand Sabourin and Assistant Coach Bob Petrillo. The other two captains are Mark Casey and John Daniels.