Fire Chief Eric Hajder, joined by Deputy Chief Michael Patterson, came before the Advisory and Finance Board with a plan that would help recruit and retain firefighters.
Chief Hajder called the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters the most pressing issue facing the department. He pointed out that in 1998, the department had 112 members and by 2018 that had reduced to 78. The current number is 72 members. While the number of firefighters was decreasing, the number of responses have increased. He noted that in 1998 when the department had 112 members, they had 368 responses. In 2018, when the department was down to 78 firefighters, they had 548 responses.
The chief noted that they were losing on average, three firefighters per year, most to retirement or leaving town.