PHILLIPS — Before they went to their monthly training meeting Tuesday night, three firefighters joined selectmen and the town manager to accept praise for their unselfish efforts to help their Canadian neighbors in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.
Josh Bachelder and Paul Hudson accepted a framed copy of the speech that U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, read into the Congressional Record on July 15 in Washington, D.C.
After runaway oil tankers rolled down train tracks into Lac-Megantic on July 6, they exploded and ignited, killing at least 47 people and destroying much of the downtown.
Franklin County’s emergency management director Tim Hardy coordinated with western Maine firefighters to provide assistance, and although no department required firefighters to go, the two men took Engine No. 4 and headed north.
“It’s worth noting that….every firefighter who made that journey were all volunteer firefighters,” King said in his speech.
Hudson and Bachelder completed a 14-hour shift and returned to Phillips to provide service to the rest of Franklin County. Since several other area towns sent volunteers, Hardy determined that Franklin County needed to continue its protection level at home. The two Phillips men, with nearly four decades of firefighting service between them, modestly accepted the praise Tuesday night.
“We just jumped in the truck and headed up there,” Bachelder said. “It was the right thing to do.”
In other matters at Tuesday’s meeting, Town Manager Elaine Hubbard announced a public meeting with Matt Dubois, a representative from Congressman Michael Michaud’s office, from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Town Office. She noted that the townspeople have the opportunity to share their concerns about employment opportunities, attracting more businesses to the town and other issues. For example, residents might ask Congressman Michaud to pursue more services for the 175 area veterans, she said.
“I encourage people to come to talk to him,” she said. “Even if we don’t have Congressman Michaud here, we will have access to him through his representative.”
Hubbard also announced that she hired Tom Marcotte as the town’s new plumbing inspector and code enforcement officer. Marcotte, who lives in Strong, also works as the code enforcement officer and plumbing inspector for several other area towns.
“He offers a wealth of knowledge,” said Selectman Ray Gaudette, who met with Marcotte at the Town Office.
In other news, selectmen agreed to close the Town Office at noon Friday, Aug, 16.
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- A framed copy of Sen. Angus King’s speech acknowledging the volunteer efforts of several Franklin County fire departments who helped the citizens of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, will hang in the Phillips Fire Department’s training room. Pictured, from left, are selectman Lincoln Haines, Phillips firefighters Josh Bachelder and Paul Hudson, Fire Chief James Gould, and selectmen Andrew Phillips and Ray Gaudette. The two men took a Phillips Fire Department truck to the Canadian town to fight a fire caused by an explosion of railroad car fuel tanks.
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