Volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention

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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	August, 2005	Return to newsletter index

Only 5 Fire Departments in the State; Augusta, Auburn, Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland are staffed entirely by fulltime staff. All the other departments are either a combination of career and volunteer or entirely volunteer. Ask any Chief of these departments and they will probably tell you that recruitment and retention of qualified volunteer firefighters is a major issue for their department. Volunteer firefighters are often paid a stipend or hourly rate for their services. Saco Call Department members are paid approximately $1,100 per year for their service to the city. The Saco Call Department members not only fight fires but also respond the apparatus from the North Saco and Bayview Station to fire and rescue calls.

When asked why recruitment and retention is a problem, the standard answer is the time commitment that is now required to belong to a Fire Department. All firefighters paid and volunteer are held to the same training standards. The entry level of firefighter training for the department is State Firefighter 1. This training program consists of 160 hours of standard based training. New Saco Firefighters are sent to a regional program that begins in January on Wednesday evenings and all day Saturdays and completes in June with a state end test. All new firefighters are required to demonstrate their skills to successfully complete the course.

All members of the Saco Call Department are required to attend meetings and training the first two Monday evening of each month as well as specialized trainings on several Saturdays per year. Most prospective members are not aware of the time commitments and when informed decline available positions.

The Fire Department struggles to meet manpower requirements during fires. In the past many members of the Call Department employed by local mills and companies were released by their employers to fight fires. With employee costs continually rising most call departments members are not available during work hours.

The department has implement several programs to deal with this problem. Students from the local regional college majoring in Para Medicine and Fire Science programs are given free rooming in the Bayview Station during the school year in exchange for responding the apparatus. Retired Saco Call Department members have been trained as Fire-Police to direct traffic at major incidents. Many departments now offer small retirement benefits to successfully retain volunteer firefighters. In the near future, the City of Saco hopes to have a small retirement available to volunteer firefighter to reward them for their valuable service. These dedicated department members provide cost effective quality emergency service to our citizens.