Volunteer shortages, spotty radio signals plague fire departments

SEDGWICK—Recruiting, training and retaining volunteers to provide fire services to local communities has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

- JEFFREY B. ROTH

“Countrywide and statewide, there’s a shortage of manpower,” said David Carter, chief of the Sedgwick Fire Department, Tuesday evening, September 15, during a joint interview, at the Sedgwick Ridge Road fire station. Also attending were Ryan Hayward, Stonington fire chief, and Brent Morey, Deer Isle fire chief.

“We were faced with a situation where we don’t have good manpower, especially during the day. A lot of the guys, living on the island, are fishermen, including Ryan; so, it makes it really difficult for them,” Carter said.

During the week, Sedgwick Fire Department can rely on four or five Road fire station. Also attending were Ryan Hayward, Stonington fire chief, and Brent Morey, Deer Isle fire chief.

“We were faced with a situation where we don’t have good manpower, especially during the day. A lot of the guys, living on the island, are fishermen, including Ryan; so, it makes it really difficult for them,” Carter said.

During the week, Sedgwick Fire Department can rely on four or five trained firefighters, Carter said. As a result, when any of the three departments are dispatched on a call, all three chiefs are paged by the local dispatcher, to assure that there is adequate personnel responding for each specific incident.