Described as a “legend” by Raymond fire officials, Assistant Chief Dale Mentink retired last month after 55 years of service with the Raymond Volunteer Fire Department. “I enjoy serving the good people of the Town of Raymond. I did this mainly to help my neighbors, because I knew my family and I would need someone to help me if my house was on fire,” Mentink said. When Mentink, 79, volunteered to be a firefighter in May 1962, it had been just two years since the department was chartered at a time when there was no state certification for firefighters. He still remembers his first fire like it was yesterday.