Edgecomb’s fire chief and assistant fire chief attended the Edgecomb Board of Selectmen’s meeting Monday, March 9 to request the creation of a full-time fire chief position. A full-time position is necessary to complete the fire department’s mandated responsibilities and offset the dwindling number of volunteers able to respond to calls, Potter said.
“We can’t keep up with demand and continue the way we’re going,” Potter said. “There’s just not enough hours in the day.”
The Edgecomb Fire Department has approximately 15 volunteers on its roster. Only a small fraction of those volunteers, however, are able to respond to calls, Potter said, and the calls keep pouring in.
Potter said the emergency pages received by the fire department have almost doubled since last winter. He spoke of the events of Saturday, March 7, when the fire department was paged out twice within two hours – once for a burst pipe at a residential house for the elderly and once for a structure fire in Boothbay.
Only four volunteers were able to respond to those pages, Potter said. “It’s frustrating for me as chief,” Potter said. “When the pager goes off, I can’t guarantee someone will show up.”
Potter said if something is not done to reverse the current problem faced by the volunteer fire department, it may have to consider cutting services, such as not responding to calls for non-injury motor-vehicle accidents.
Potter noted that oftentimes motor-vehicle accidents turn into more than what they come in as. He spoke of a recent page for a motor-vehicle accident that turned out to involve an injury and also noted that failing to direct traffic could result in an even more dangerous situation.
“Our backs are against the wall,” Potter said. “The town has helped tremendously to get us to where we are now. We don’t want to start to slip backwards.”
The request for a full-time fire chief in Edgecomb comes during a challenging budget season.
“This is terrible timing,” board Chairman Jack Sarmanian said.
Potter said he recognizes the limitations on Edgecomb’s budget. “We’re looking down the road,” Potter said. “Things can’t continue the way they are now.”
Potter asked if he could meet with the selectmen in executive session to work out the details of changing the position to full time and see if it is doable. The operating budget of the fire department, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the Edgecomb Budget Committee on March 16, will not reflect the proposed change, Potter said.
Selectmen said if they are able to work out the details of the proposal to hire on a full-time fire chief, it will have to be voted on at the May town meeting.
