WEST BATH

Fire Chief Greg Payson has been working around the clock to get the West Bath Fire department station completely up to code in an effort to qualify for the Safety and Health Award for Public Employers.

According to the Maine Department of Labor website, SHAPE recognizes “public sector employers who maintain an exemplary safety and health management system.”

The primary benefit of receiving the award, Chief Payson said, is knowing that his department is safe — but it also exempts awardees from inspection for the term the site remains certified.

“There is a lot of work involved in that,” Payson said. “I’m a part-time chief and I’m not required to spend anytime in the office, but I spend upwards of 20 to 30 hours a week” working toward the goal of complying with SHAPE standards, he said.

To be SHAPE certified, the workplace must be 100 percent compliant with Department of Labor Standards code, Payson said.

After Payson became fire chief of the West Bath Fire Department in July 2013, he invited an inspector from the state DLS to review the fire station.

“An inspection can take four to eight hours,” Payson said. “They go through all your paperwork, they look at everything.”

At a recent public meeting at the West Bath Fire Hall, Payson said the inspector had given him a “16-page list of deficiencies that needed to be corrected,” of which he estimated he has already corrected about 80 percent.

Most of the violations were for outdated policies and plans — which have to be updated annually, but some hadn’t been updated for four years.

“A lot of it was stuff that was completed but there was poor documentation of it,” Payson said. “If we don’t have records for it, the state looks at that and says, ‘Well, how can you back that up?’”

Some deficiencies cited were for electrical and safety issues at the station, Payson said.

“There were a bunch of electrical issues — some wiring, extension cords used on things that we shouldn’t have, for example the washing machine should be direct wired in,” Payson said.

“Some issues with garage doors that don’t have child safety features. If someone walks underneath the door, it doesn’t automatically go up, it continues to go down and that needs to be fixed,” he said.

Though getting up to code has been an extensive undertaking this time around, Payson said he thinks that it will be much easier to keep that standard up once it has been attained.

“The big accomplishment is getting the paperwork to where it is today. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort getting it up to snuff,” Payson said. “I’ve got a great group of people down here who want to do all they can for the town.”

Currently, the volunteer fire department has 30 personnel, Payson said, of which approximately 10 are also emergency medical technicians trained at varying levels from basic to paramedic.

“I’m very training-oriented, anytime the town has money to fund it,” Payson said. “It makes them more proficient at their jobs and I can worry less about sending them into different situations.”

Getting the fire station up to code — whether it qualifies for SHAPE or not — is a benefit to the town and taxpayers, the chief said.

“It makes the building safer. Electrical issues can be serious and that can cause a fire, so it’s protecting the building and that’s a benefit to the taxpayers,” Payson said.

“I’m just making sure the town is doing what we need to do to make sure our employees are as safe as possible.”

Payson said West Bath introduced an online burning permit system for residents three weeks ago, which has met with early success. Permits can be obtained at http://wardensreport.com.

“It had been challenging in the past sometimes for residents to get permits,” Payson said, “so now they don’t have to go to the station or town hall anymore, they can just go online.”

Payson, a Topsham resident, is also a captain on the Topsham Fire and Rescue Department and full-time firefighter on the Brunswick Fire Department and an advanced EMT. He has been a firefighter since 1988, and has also worked for the Pownal and Freeport fire departments.

rgargiulo@timesrecord.com