Captain Mains remembered as mentor, leader, family man

Captain David Mains

By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

RAYMOND — Raymond Fire Captain David Mains, 48, was a hard-working family man who was a pillar in the community and whose life impacted so many people.

That was evident as approximately 600 people attended Mains’ funeral, which was held Monday at Jordan Small Middle School in the Town of Raymond.

Raymond Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Cathy Gosselin, who has known Mains for a decade, said the celebration of life was a nice tribute to his life.

“There were a bunch of speakers. They talked about him being a mentor and a leader to others. They talked about how much he loved his wife and kids,” Gosselin said on Monday.

“We didn’t know how Dave found time to do everything that he did for the community while working a full-time job and having a family,” she said.

He worked full-time as an architect in Portland, she said. He was a member of the on-call company for the Raymond Fire and Rescue Department, she said. He was a past recipient of a Firefighter of the Year award.

“He was very active in the community with his wife and kids,” Gosselin said.

Mains and his wife Jennifer had four children: Sean Michael, Anthony Joseph “AJ,” Noah Roberts, and Kirsten Noel.

“He did fire inspections. He oversaw our fire prevention program. He was a hard worker and very dedicated,” Gosselin said.

“He was excellent to work with. He was a very hard worker and very loyal,” she said.

“You can’t say anything bad about David — he was just a great guy,” she said.

Mains died on Monday, June 25, from injuries that occurred during a motorcycle accident in Massachusetts. The accident happened around 3:30 p.m., on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford, according to a Massachusetts State Police report. Mains was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital after being airlifted from the accident scene.

His wife, Jennifer, was hospitalized for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

On Friday, Mains’ body was transported to Maine with a procession escort traveling from Boston to Raymond.

“It was amazing. They had 62 motorcycles in the procession. We had our fire engine in it. It was a nice escort to bring him home,” Gosselin said.

“Every overpass on the turnpike from Boston to Westbrook had firefighters on it,” she said.

As the procession escort was happening on Friday, comments were posted on the Facebook page for Raymond Fire and Rescue

“Just came through York, Maine, condolences from the York Village Fire Department,” wrote Ryan Michel.

“My husband is a retired fire chief and my stepson is a captain. We are from Rhode Island. We were heading to Wells, Maine, and saw the beautiful tribute for Captain David Mains,” wrote Joanmarie O’Neill.

“It was an honor to get to see it go through Windham on its last part of the journey,” Sarah Megan wrote. “Brought tears to my eyes.”

Casco’s Assistant Fire Chief Holly Hancock was unable to attend Mains’ celebration of life because she was manning the Casco Fire Station.

“I’ve known him a long time. I worked with him many times,” Hancock said. “He was a dedicated firefighter, very capable, good to work with, and dedicated to his community,” she said. “He was a smart firefighter. I enjoyed working with him.”

A fundraiser has been started to help the Mains’ family with medical bills, memorial expenses and for the children’s’ future needs. It can be found on The Mains Family Facebook page.