By Nick P. Angelides,Special to the Sun Journal

SABATTUS – The Board of Selectmen said Tuesday night that the town will adopt a supplemental insurance policy to cover firefighters performing tasks other than extinguishing fires.

“We are going to get a list of volunteers that assist the municipality and attempt to get them all covered under this plan,” Selectman Guy Desjardins said. “It is in the town’s best interest to do this. It will pay for most of the volunteers’ medical bills” if injured on the job.

Sabattus Volunteer Fire Department Chief Don Therrien sent a letter to the town last week listing the duties volunteers would not be conducting because they lack coverage under the town’s insurance or workers’ compensation plans. The current insurance policy covers firefighters only when they are suppressing fires. The supplemental policy will cover chores such as repair to the stations, maintenance of the floors and restrooms, changing light bulbs and other work.

The policy is from HUB International New England, a company recommended by the Maine Municipal Association. The agreement requires the town to submit a list of volunteers by Dec. 31. The coverage is from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, and the town will pick up the yearly fee of $3.75 per volunteer, Desjardins said.

Therrien said the new policy does not include workers’ compensation coverage.

“I think most are missing the point,” Therrien said. “Medical bills aside, who will pay for the missed time one of my volunteers may run into if injured while performing one of these tasks? Can’t I go to the taxpayers and ask them to create a slush fund to help cover for any time that one of my people may get hurt and are unable to work for two weeks?”

The board said for the most part it is illegal for a body to insure itself, and it would take a team of inspectors, claim trackers and an enormous amount of money to do it.

Selectmen and firefighters are tentatively scheduling a walk through both stations next week to assess other issues that need to be addressed and consider paying a firefighter to be a part-time town employee to do the uninsured tasks. That way, the person would be covered under the town’s insurance and workers’ compensation policies.

“I just want to take a minute and commend you as a department head for doing what you feel needs to be done for your staff,” Selectman William Luce told Therrien at Tuesday night’s meeting. “I think we all want to see this work and we will wait to see what the higher channels of the Maine Municipal Association has for answers before we move forth.”

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