FARMINGTON — Farmington Fire and Rescue is once again seeking ways to build up its membership roster.

“It is a big concern,” Chief Terry Bell said. “Every department has the same problem.”

Bell placed advertisements for paid-call firefighters with the Maine Municipal Association and some media services this week.

When Bell joined the department in 1977, the roster was at 40 firefighters. The roster is now at 25 members, and the average age of those members is 51. Of those 25, not all can go into burning buildings, rescue people or rescue firefighters who have gone in and need help, he said. Some members who have served for a number of years are needed as support people, but they can’t do interior work.

In Farmington, a town with a population of 7,760 — plus more during the day because of the hospital, schools and university — “that is a lot to cover with this amount of firefighters,” he said.

Normally, fewer than 15 firefighters respond to calls. Two structure fires, occurring within 24 hours of each other this month, brought out 14 members for a 5:30 p.m. fire and 11 members the next morning around noon. Mutual aid responded, but it takes time for other towns to arrive.

“We need people,” Bell said. “There is a lot more to it than just going to the fire and putting water on it.”

The department still has three per-diem firefighters working weekdays and two working on weekend days. That helps, Bell said, but he never knows how many will respond to a call other than those already at the station.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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