PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Small towns throughout Maine are facing a shortage of trained firefighters and aging volunteer ranks.
The Portland Press Herald (https://bit.ly/1CdKzJO ) reports that the China Village Fire Department has only four volunteer firefighters trained to enter a burning building and its fire chief says he needs at least six to launch an interior attack.
Chief Shawn Howard, who heads the Madison and Skowhegan fire departments, says both have struggled in recent years to maintain a roster of 22 volunteer firefighters - in addition to eight who are full-time.
Howard said 30 years ago there were waiting lists of willing volunteers for in both departments.
Fire officials blame the low stipends paid to volunteers, rigorous training standards and waning interest in civic duty for today’s challenges in recruiting firefighters.
The Maine State Federation of Firefighters says 93 percent of Maine’s fire departments are fully, or primarily, staffed by volunteers, in contrast to the national average of 70 percent.
Ken Desmond, president of the Maine State Federation of Firefighters, said Maine had 12,000 firefighters in the early 1990s. He said Maine has 8,000 firefighters at best today.
Phillips Town Manager Elaine Hubbard tells the Portland Press Herald that the training required in her northern Franklin County town of 1,028 is the same required in Bangor, with 30,000 residents and a full-time fire department. Hubbard said the town can’t keep up with the increasing mandates and training.
“We can’t afford it, but we can’t afford not to have it,” she said.
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