Chilmark selectmen voted unanimously on Tuesday to name Jeremy Bradshaw as the new town fire chief.

Mr. Bradshaw, who will be promoted to the full-time post from assistant fire chief, will begin work August 1. Selectmen are negotiating terms with him for a three-year contract.

“I am very impressed with Jeremy’s support from the community,” said selectman Jim Malkin at a meeting called last Friday to discuss the appointment. “He has the support of the fire department and good knowledge of the current operations,” Mr. Malkin added.

The new fire chief has deep ties to both the Island and public service. Mr. Bradshaw joined the Navy at age 17 after attending Minuteman Regional Vocational School in Lexington. He received his first fire service training while in the Navy, aboard the USS Ranger CV-61, and eventually went on to captain an FJ-4 fighter-bomber.

He moved to the Island 23 years ago, at first painting houses and later founding the Martha’s Vineyard Tile Company Inc. He has been a volunteer firefighter for all 23 years, the majority of which he served as a lieutenant. He became assistant fire chief six months ago and worked under the direction of chief David Norton, who is retiring.

“It’s a great department and we have great people on board,” said Mr. Bradshaw, following his appointment on Tuesday. “But we have to make a lot of changes with the fire service.”

Among those changes, he said, are measures to aid in recruiting new members to join the department. This includes working to bring required off-Island training sessions back to the Island, providing affordable housing for emergency service personnel, and increasing part-time recruitment efforts for Chilmark locals.

He also said he hopes to maintain the quality of collaboration between the Island’s different emergency services.

“It’s a busy Island, with a lot going on,” he said. “Mutual aid is one of the main reasons we can stay on top of it all . . . it really works.”

Police chief Jonathan Klaren and Lieutenant Gary Robinson also voiced their support.

“We received about 400 letters from the public that said Jeremy Bradshaw was a good guy,” selectman and board chairman Warren Doty said.

“Everybody has got to be feeling good about this,” selectman Bill Rossi concluded.