Wiscasset Police Officer Donald “Donnie” Smith, 48, died at his home in Wiscasset on Wednesday, Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline said.

“On behalf of the men and women who serve as members of the Wiscasset Police Department, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Police Officer Donald H. Smith Jr. His death was sudden and unexpected,” Cline states in a press release Thursday afternoon.

In a telephone interview, Cline said Smith’s death does not appear suspicious. It was under investigation by the state Medical Examiner’s Office and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Cline said.

Authorities responded to the scene after receiving a call from Smith’s family at about 8:20 p.m. Jan. 7, Cline said. Smith was alone at the home at the time of his death, Cline said.

Smith joined the Wiscasset force in 2007 and worked in public safety more than 30 years, including serving as a Wiscasset firefighter in the 1990s.

Wiscasset Fire Chief T.J. Merry was still a child then but got to know Smith later.

“Donnie was a great guy. He was greatly respected in the town, and known as someone who was very fair,” Merry said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.

Around midnight Wednesday night, firefighters and other emergency personnel gave Smith a salute and honored him with a call over the radio, Merry said. The fire department’s pickup truck known as Truck 1 was part of the escort to a Richmond funeral home, Merry said.

The fire department came together in support of a nephew of Smith’s on the department, Merry said.

“We have to try to pull together for his sake,” he said.

Cline’s press release notes that Donald Smith’s service history included being on the Wiscasset Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team; serving as corrections and transport officer for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office; and as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). About 10 years ago, Smith was assistant director of the Wiscasset Ambulance Service.

“He has proven himself to be an exemplary citizen and officer. Everyone in the Wiscasset PD family and the community is feeling the loss, especially his fellow officers he worked with side by side,” the release states. “The Wiscasset Police Department will support all of our officers, many of whom will take a long time to recover from this traumatic event. But we will support each other through these difficult times.

“The Wiscasset Police Department and other Lincoln County Public Safety agencies intend to work closely with the family to assure that Officer Donnie Smith receives a fitting farewell, worthy of a Wiscasset hero. The Wiscasset Police Department mourns the tragic loss of our brother, Donnie,” the release concludes.

Following word of Smith’s death, the Wiscasset Ambulance Attendants Association’s Facebook page and several other Facebook pages posted a Wiscasset police badge with a black band.

“Police, Fire, or EMS — We are one family. Our thoughts and prayers for the WPD and the entire Smith family,” the attendants association’s post states.

A memorial service for Smith will be held Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Wiscasset Community Center, according to Kincer Funeral Home in Richmond.