GEORGETOWN

Like other coastal towns in Maine, Georgetown’s Volunteer Fire Department has a strong community presence, though it distinguishes itself from other departments in several ways.

For example, the organization is led by a board of directors and it operates independently of the town’s government.

While some town funds are used to buy equipment, “we’re not fully on the town’s tax burden to keep the fire department operating,” said member John Lebrecque.

“Obviously, if it was fully town owned, the taxes would be a lot higher,” he added.

Community support through fundraisers and donations are what keep the department going throughout the year, and allows them to continue their ambulance services free of charge, for both residents and summer visitors.

“Obviously, this model only works because our call volume is low enough to maintain it, between 130 and 150 calls a year,” Fire Chief Justin LoDolce said.

Calls also tend to triple in the summer months when the number of residents in town swell to 3,000 or even 6,000 because of visitors.

“We are fortunate to have a very good turnout on our medical calls. We average six, seven, eight per medical call, and for fire calls, whether it’s a fire alarm, brush fire or chimney fire, we tend to get 10 to 15,” LoDolce said.

It also helps that the department has access to more equipment than they might have had in previous years.

“It used to be one thing to have a small engine and a truck with a tank strapped to the back of it, and that was your fire apparatus for the whole town. And now we have two paramedic-level ambulances, two engines, two tanks and a rescue boat — a lot more capability than we’ve ever had in the past,” LoDolce said.

As far as volunteering goes, it’s a matter of community for the members of the department.

“You do it for different reasons,” said Lebrecque. “I’ve always said, do it for the people in Georgetown to help out the residents.”

Member Jerry Gamache also chimed in, noting the tight-knit community of Georgetown.

“You may do it for them as a community, you know, a John Smith on Apple Street, but you don’t know John Smith,” he said. “But here in Georgetown, you say John Smith on Apple Street and we all know John Smith. There’s a different kind of ambiance and connection to the commitment.”

But like other departments, Georgetown has also witnessed the trend of declining volunteers seen in fire departments across the the country, especially in the younger generation.

“We’re pretty much level right now, but it is hard to get volunteers,” Lebrecque said.

“It’s an issue on many different fronts,” added member Bob Trabona. “The time that younger people have to participate is greatly reduced. On top of that, the government gets involved so they have mandatory requirements. So when you throw mandatory training on top of being called in the middle of the night, and on top of kids, second jobs and so on, it’s really tough to find the time to say, ‘OK, I’m going to go fight fires.’”

Cost could also be an obstacle.

An average EMT class costs about $1,000, while advanced classes are $1,400, and paramedic classes can rise to $6,000 and $8,000, said LoDolce. The hundreds and hundreds of hours necessary for class and clinical time can also be an additional hurdle.

“While this is all safety for the firefighters, it’s a real challenge for us because several years ago they didn’t have all these mandatory rules and regulations,” said Sharon, Trabona’s wife.

Yet LoDolce, who is one of the younger members of the department, hopes to encourage more community members to volunteer, whether it would be in smaller ways through volunteering at fundraisers or even grant writing.

“It’s our job, especially as an administration, to make the fire department more accessible to everybody and that’s something that we really strive for here at Georgetown. (It’s) to open our doors to anyone, and that’s people who may not necessarily want to be EMTs or firefighters, but … any and all help is always appreciated,” he said. “My hope is that more younger people realize that volunteering for their community is an option for them.”

dkim@timesrecord.com

Busy during the summer

• FIRE DEPARTMENT calls in Georgetown tend to triple in the summer months when the number of residents in town swell to 3,000 or even 6,000 because of visitors.