The saying “you have come a long way” certainly holds true for the Standish Fire/EMS Department. The last three years have seen major changes and reorganization of this busy Public Safety Department.

The citizens, Town Council, town manager, and department members have banded together to produce a department second to none. Tremendous public support is exhibited through the approval of a new Public Safety facility, new modern apparatus such as the Tower/Ladder, Ambulances, Chief’s Vehicle and a soon-to-arrive Rescue/Pumper. This does not include the investment in new equipment, protective gear and a host of other operational items.

The first full-time Fire Chief was hired in December 2001 (Ricky Plummer) and the path was charted for the new administrative direction of the organization. First and foremost, a Department of Public Safety was formed. This new department was to include Fire, EMS, Dispatch, Emergency Management, Health Officer, Harbor Master and Animal Control. With this daunting task was the merger of the separate Fire & EMS organizations. This was accomplished in the same manner you would merge two families. The two families worked with professionalism, pride and a goal to provide even better service to the town of Standish. A quote from Chief Plummer “it was a challenging job, but in the end a rewarding one”.

The new family decided to rename themselves “Standish Fire/EMS” to better align with their new mission. The EMS per diem personnel were cross-trained to perform both jobs, thereby enhancing the coverage to the community. Department policies, procedures, promotional process and even the EMS billing were redefined. No area of the new organization was left unturned.

After a little more than a year, a second full-time chief was hired (Craig Butkus) who brought a dynamic sense of enthusiasm and further direction to the department as well as new apparatus, department structure for officers and other personnel. Further emphasis was given to hazardous materials and inclusion in the area Haz-Mat Team with trained technicians. Most importantly was the change in how all shifts are covered. This was highly successful in reducing the response time out the door from 11 minutes in January 2004 to 1 minute in January, 2005. The average response time to the scene went from 17 minutes to 8 minutes. Forty-two percent of our calls we are on-scene within 4 minutes. The addition of a full-time Fire Lieutenant-Paramedic and assigned personnel at the station six nights per week have made this possible. We look forward to providing this coverage 24/7 soon.

The town of Standish has accomplished a public safety milestone. The enhancements to public safety through EVERYONE’S efforts allows this organization to provide unsurpassed service to this community. This is evidenced by the recent survival of a cardiac arrest patient. A milestone was reached by the Standish Fire/EMS by having 100 percent compliance with the state-run reporting system. This means that for every run for the entire year 2004, vitals were completed on every patient and documented.

In February 2005, the community hired its third full-time Chief (Martin Jordan). It is my commitment to this community that I will carry on what you have asked us to do. To those who have served before us I thank you and to those who serve now I look forward to working with you.

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