Crime & Safety

Jordan Fire Chief: We Need Volunteers, Bad

Jordan is in need of volunteer firefighters, which raises the question: is Waterford's fire system sustainable?

Jordan Fire Chief Tim Condon needs volunteers. And he’s not afraid to say it.

“I have an issue and I need volunteers,” Condon said. “And there is no shame in that.”

Condon said when he was starting at the fire department, which was just 15 years ago, there was an abundance of volunteers. At some calls, there would be so many guys wanting to go that they all couldn’t fit on the trucks, he said.

Now, that’s changed. Right now Jordan Firehouse – the town’s busiest firehouse - has about 15 reliable volunteers, and they are stretched to the max, Condon said. It also is stretching Waterford's other firehouses out as well, as other departments are now having to pick up what Jordan cannot handle, he said.

Condon’s facing a problem that is a nation-wide problem, where fewer and fewer people are volunteering at their local fire departments. While he said he was open to the idea of financial incentives for the volunteer firefighters, such as a pay-per-call system or linking them into the town’s pension plan, that is not the reality now.

“I’m working under the system we have now,” Condon said. “And under this system, I need volunteers. I have an issue, and to make it work, I need more people.”

Right now, Waterford does not pay its volunteer firefighters for going on calls, like the Waterford Ambulance Services does – it pays $50 per call. The only benefit is the possibility of a $1,000 property tax break, which is hard to qualify for, Condon said. So why volunteer?

“The purest way you can help your community is to be there when someone calls for help,” Condon said. “It is the most direct way you can help.” 

Volunteers

Jordan Firehouse is by far the busiest fire station in town, according to Condon and call volume records he provided. That means it needs the most volunteers, he said.

The problem is it takes about 200 hours to train a volunteer before they can actually go on a fire call and another 150 hours to train a volunteer before they can go on a medial call, Condon said. After 9/11, the regulations for firefighters increased substantially, and while there were originally grants to pay for it all, those grants are running out, he said.

“After 9/11, there was a lot of money for firefighters, but the money came with regulation,” Condon said. “Now the money is drying up, but we are left with the regulation.”

That means it takes longer than ever before a volunteer can become a firefighter, he said. And what often happens, particularly at Jordan, is that volunteers become trained and then go get a job as a professional firefighter somewhere else, Condon said.

Even if they don’t get hired elsewhere, many of the volunteers get married, have children and then have less time to help volunteer at the firehouse, Condon said. And while the big calls still bring out a lot of men, and the little calls don’t require many people, it is the “mid-range” calls that are the issue, he said.

Different System?

Waterford has seven paid firefighters that man the fire stations during the day. For nights and weekends, it is up to volunteers and part-time firefighters to fill the shifts. Some of those shifts are not being filled, at least at Jordan, Condon said. 

The town could change the shifts around for the paid firefighters so there is always one on, but less on at a time, like some other towns. Another option would be to give volunteers money for calls or some other financial incentive, Condon said.

First Selectman Dan Steward said he is meeting with Condon and Waterford Fire Director Bruce Miller. He said that Condon has some ideas, but the ideas need to be “fleshed out and understood.” He didn't comment further.


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