The Harpswell Anchor will present a panel discussion about the future of fire and rescue in Harpswell on Aug. 15 at the Orr’s Island Library.
The panel will include leaders of local emergency agencies and contributors to the Anchor’s August special report, “Involuntary Response: Harpswell Fire and Rescue in Transition.”
The panelists will be Benjamin Wallace Jr., fire chief for both the Cundy’s Harbor Volunteer Fire Department and the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department; Ted Merriman, president of the board of directors at the Orr’s and Bailey department; J. Craig Anderson, reporter for the Anchor; and Jeffrey Good, contributor to the Anchor. The Anchor’s editor, J.W. Oliver, will moderate the discussion.
The panel will begin at 7 p.m. The panelists will field questions from the moderator about emergency services in Harpswell, with a focus on the islands. After the initial conversation, the moderator will invite questions from the audience.
Harpswell’s fire and rescue system, which involves cooperation between three independent fire departments and the town, is in a state of transition from all-volunteer services to a mixture of volunteers and career firefighters and emergency medical responders. The town is considering whether to build a $6 million-plus central emergency services facility.
“Involuntary Response” and the Aug. 15 panel both seek to examine the past, present and future of Harpswell emergency services, as well as the challenges local first responders face and how they aim to overcome them.
