The Harvard Fire Department is recruiting volunteer, on-call firefighters and will host an information session Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. at the fire station at 13 Ayer Road.
The Fire Department is always looking for new recruits, and the numbers of on-call firefighters often will fluctuate from year to year, said Lt. Andrew Perry. “In the past years, we have had a steady stream of new people coming in, but this hasn’t been the case in the last two years. So, we are addressing the issue now,” Perry said in a phone interview. There are currently 23 volunteers on the department roster. Perry said the department has no specific goal in mind. In its 2016 report to the town, the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass recommended the department develop a recruitment and retention strategy “that lays out specific techniques for enhancing membership.”
Training to be a volunteer Harvard firefighter is open to any Harvard resident, even those with no previous experience, said Perry. “There’s a position and role for everybody,” he said. “Everybody is trainable.”
Although the job of firefighting is physically demanding, Perry says that recruits who want to become firefighters will likely find within themselves the ability to meet expectations. “I know it’s cliché,” Perry said, “but you can do anything if you set your mind to it.”
Following is a brief summary of the steps a trainee must take to become a full-fledged firefighter:
- Entry-level: Attend information session and learn about the Fire Department, its members, its equipment, and the daily responsibilities of an on-call firefighter. Interview with Fire Department officers about the membership process.
- Begin recruitment phase: Respond to calls, train alongside firefighters, and learn to use fire equipment (approximately two months).
- Start probationary phase: Attend a training course with online schoolwork at the Massachusetts Fire Fighting Academy in Stow (approximately four months on weekends and evenings). The Fire Department will pay for the training at the academy. Pass the national Pro Board Firefighter I/II test (www.theproboard.org).
- Become a full-fledged firefighter: Receive certification and be appointed by the fire officers. Begin on-call duties.
Becoming fully certified typically takes six months to a year, depending on the availability of classes. Perry said the rewards of becoming a firefighter are not only the pride and satisfaction of doing something important for oneself and the community, but also the feeling of being a part of the community, of having a second family for life, “who will do anything for you.” The Fire Department’s tagline, he said, is “Join our family to protect yours.”
