The Morning Sentinel

SOMERSET COUNTY

March 8

Fire departments begin training class

Program's focus is to reduce shortage of qualified firefighters

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

All of Somerset County will benefit from a free firefighter training program that is reversing a shortage in qualified firefighters.

People driving by the Anson fire station recently would have seen people outfitted in firefighter gear climbing a 100-foot aerial ladder toward no building in flames -- just the sky.

About 40 men and women from across Somerset County were learning how to fight fires, as part of the first training program of its kind to come to the area -- one that Anson Fire Chief Alan Walker said he's been anticipating for three years.

Maine Fire Training & Education, a department of Southern Maine Community College, is offering the free 75-hour course, which is spread over five weekends through June and across Somerset County.

By the end of the hands-on training, crews from the fire rescue services of Bingham, Hartland, Anson, Norridgewock, Pleasant Ridge Plantation, West Forks, Caratunk, Jackman and Moose River will be qualified to enter burning buildings, as per the Maine Bureau of Labor Standards, Walker said.

The training will increase by 50 percent the number of qualified Jackman-Moose River firefighters, said Fire Chief Bill Jarvis. It will increase by about a third the number of qualified Anson firefighters, Walker said.

There is a need for more firefighters in Somerset County, Walker said.

"This is a problem statewide and across the country. Years ago people worked within their hometown. As economics changed in this country, people are traveling 40, 50 miles to their work site ... So we have to rely on mutual aid more and more."

As available firefighters numbers drop, fire department calls are rising. About 10 years ago, when Walker first became fire chief, the department responded to about 150 medical, fire and other emergency calls, he said. Last year it responded to about 200.

Walker said, "I have 32 firefighters. (The training) will add 10 more I can depend on. It's going to help us all around because there is a countywide mutual aid agreement for all of Somerset County, so it's going to benefit all of Somerset County."

While there are a number of training opportunities for firefighters across Maine, this Basic Fire School program provides instructors for free -- although the fire departments pay workers to attend and also reimburse for gas and mileage. Training is funded by the state general fund, the fire insurance prevention tax, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Fire Academy, according to the program's Web site.

Firefighters usually attend training sessions on their own, or individual departments host training. But those options often require more time and money, Jarvis said.

When Bingham Fire Chief Scott Laweryson found out about Maine Fire Training & Education, he brought the idea to the Somerset County Fire Chiefs' Association last fall. The fire chiefs expressed a great need for training and decided to act together, Laweryson said.

"I'm kind of surprised how big a stir this has caused," Laweryson said.

"It's difficult to come up with money to train their personnel, so they've come up with a means to train their personnel with a lower cost," said Oakland Fire Capt. Dave Groder, also an instructor for the program.

Elsewhere training would cost more than $100 per session, Laweryson said. For about 40 people and five sessions, that's a savings of about $20,000 for the county.

And the training is 85 percent hands-on, rather than in a classroom, which fire chiefs are excited about, he said.

The course teaches about fire behavior, the tools and equipment needed to fight fires, how to search for and rescue people from burning buildings and how to perform tasks in a safe manner, Walker said. It does not provide complete certification as a firefighter, but it does allow people to enter burning buildings, which is the skill often most needed by small, volunteer fire stations, he said.

Lt. Rick Caldwell, an Anson firefighter and instructor in the program, said the program is the first of its kind to join the fire departments throughout the county. He applauded firefighters who take the time to train.

"It's a big commitment, a lot of hours of training," he said. "It's a big thing for communities to have people step up to this."

Walker said firefighters are just doing their part to help their communities. He said, "You got a neighbor in need, we'll do what we got to do to help them out. That's what my guys say. That's what it's all about."

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com