Volunteers are the foundation of Harpswell’s emergency response system. They drive fire trucks and ambulances, attend to injuries and medical emergencies, and put out fires. But there aren’t enough of them. Harpswell’s three fire and rescue departments, like many others, are struggling to recruit and retain enough volunteers to effectively respond to emergencies.
Jonathan Burbank, president of the Cundy’s Harbor Volunteer Fire Department, said the town’s demographics are one of the biggest challenges to maintaining effective volunteer emergency response.
Thirty-eight percent of town residents are 65 or older, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, more than twice the Cumberland County average. And Harpswell’s median age is 60. That’s the oldest median age of any Maine town or city with a population greater than 3,000 people.
The town’s volunteers reflect its aging population. Cundy’s Harbor is the youngest department, with an average age of 55, according to its fire chief, Benjamin Wallace Jr. The Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department has an average volunteer age of 58.5, while Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue has an average of 69.
Fighting fires is physically demanding work. Older members earn the right to retire, Wallace told the Anchor in 2022.
Younger volunteers face different challenges. Becoming a firefighter requires months of evening classes and weekend training sessions, which departments will pay for. Former volunteers and other younger residents say it is difficult or impossible to integrate training and response commitments into their work and family schedules.
Without younger members to replace aging volunteers, “the sustainability of the current system is in real jeopardy,” said David Mercier, fire chief of Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue.
Burbank said age is less of a problem for emergency medical services. Powered stretchers and other equipment allow responders to do those jobs effectively with less physical exertion. And retired residents may have more time to complete the necessary training.
The town now supplements the volunteer departments’ efforts by having two municipal firefighters on duty from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, as well as a 24/7 paramedic to respond to medical emergencies. But most of Harpswell’s emergency workforce is still made up of volunteers.
The need
The departments’ needs for different kinds of volunteers are based on the requirements of different emergencies and the frequency of those emergencies.
A house fire, for instance, might require more than a dozen responders: at least four interior firefighters in teams of two, drivers for a couple engines and several tankers, people to move and handle equipment at the scene, and a commander to direct them all. A medical call, on the other hand, may require only two people: an ambulance driver and an emergency medical technician.
Mercier can recall two instances in the last 10 years when he responded to a house fire with only two trucks and two other volunteers. That isn’t enough people to enter a burning building, except to save lives. State labor rules require four firefighters.
In each case, Mercier knew there were no people inside, so he operated the trucks while the other firefighters used hoses from outside the homes until crews from Cundy’s Harbor and Orr’s Island arrived about 20 minutes later. Mercier said he believes he could have extinguished the fires sooner if he had more responders to start, although he said the outcome — both homes were damaged beyond repair — would likely have been the same.
Harpswell’s departments have had to adapt to fighting fires shorthanded. “This is what we do, so we do it well,” said Mercier.
He said a counterexample was the November 2023 fire at The School House 1913 restaurant on Harpswell Neck Road. In that case, firefighters were on duty at the Orr’s Island station and arrived at the same time as Mercier and Harpswell Neck volunteers.
Mercier said the fast initial response allowed crews to contain the fire to the apartment where it started. “We had that fire knocked down in 12 minutes,” he said, and they saved the historic building.
Mercier, who is an advocate of a proposed central fire station on Mountain Road, said the response to that fire would have been even faster had there been a truck and firefighters at that location.
But while a fire requires more volunteers, medical emergencies are more common, accounting for about 80% of calls. Burbank said he’d like to increase the number of EMS-certified volunteers in his department by at least one-third. He sees an opportunity there for residents who may not want to or be able to qualify as firefighters.
A common refrain from Harpswell’s departments is that they welcome all kinds of help.
“It isn’t just responding to calls that we rely on volunteer help,” said Ted Merriman, president of the board at the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department. He said volunteers also can help with accounting, fundraising, facilities maintenance, and other tasks.
The numbers
Collectively, the three departments have 88 volunteers on their active rosters. Cundy’s Harbor has 25, including eight interior firefighters and nine EMS volunteers. Harpswell Neck has 35, including seven interior firefighters and four EMTs. The Orr’s and Bailey department has 29, including 10 interior firefighters and nine EMS volunteers. Together those volunteers make up less than 2% of Harpswell’s population.
A smaller number of those volunteers regularly respond to emergencies. Between 2010 and 2023, an average of 10 Harpswell Neck volunteers responded to 10 or more calls annually. For Cundy’s Harbor, the average was 11 volunteers. Orr’s and Bailey did slightly better, with an average of 18 volunteers responding to 10 or more calls.
The number of these more active volunteers has stayed roughly flat for Cundy’s Harbor and Harpswell Neck over that period. It has trended slightly upward for Orr’s and Bailey in the last several years. That department had an average of 14 active responders from 2010 to 2016, but an average of 21 from 2017-2023.
Challenges not unique to Harpswell
Harpswell’s challenges are shared by other departments in Maine and across the country. Sarah Lee, executive director of the National Volunteer Fire Council, a nonprofit advocacy group, said she hears about aging volunteers and difficulties recruiting new ones in many locales.
The cost of living is increasing across the U.S., including in Harpswell, which makes it harder for younger adults to afford to live in volunteer-served towns. Americans are working longer hours, and many families need two incomes to get by, reducing the time people have available to volunteer.
“We’ve seen the number of volunteers decline over the last three decades,” Lee said.
Despite complex structural barriers, Lee said part of the solution may be as simple as raising awareness of the need for volunteers. A National Volunteer Fire Council study found that 80% of respondents didn’t know if their local department needed more volunteers.
Training requirements have increased for volunteer firefighters everywhere. Ken Desmond, president of the Maine State Federation of Firefighters, said his own training took 80 hours over two weeks when he started more than 50 years ago. Today, a volunteer needs around 250 hours to qualify as a firefighter. Those requirements come from federal guidelines, which are adopted by the state and municipalities.
Burbank said that in addition to the time required, the courses that volunteers need to gain or maintain their certifications might only happen once a year, another obstacle to keeping volunteer responders and attracting new ones.
One bright spot in Harpswell has been the Fire and Rescue Accession Program, a free training opportunity for people ages 16-30 who are interested in joining the volunteer services. It was developed by local volunteer department members Meriel Longley and Sean Hall, and as of Jan. 1, it has town funding.
Harpswell’s volunteers receive modest monetary compensation, according to department officials. Cundy’s Harbor and Orr’s and Bailey Islands award points for various activities, such as maintaining equipment, responding to an emergency, or learning a skill. Harpswell Neck has a similar system, plus a $500 base stipend.
Volunteers who opt into these systems earn a portion of a pot of money that each department sets aside. Compensation for an active volunteer ranges from less than $1,000 to a couple thousand dollars per year. Officers earn an additional stipend, between $300 and $1,600.
The Maine State Federation of Firefighters has worked to secure retirement benefits and life insurance for volunteers. Desmond said he also has explored reducing volunteers’ property tax payments.
For all the difficulties the departments face, their leaders say that if people can make time to volunteer, they will find it worthwhile. “Once engaged, I think responders really enjoy the camaraderie and sense of community in keeping our neighbors safe and healthy,” Merriman said.
People interested in volunteering can learn more or apply to join their local department at harpswellfireandrescue.org/volunteer.html.
