Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 hopes to hire additional EMR/firefighter

0
36

Beacon Hose Company No. 1 is looking to hire a second daytime emergency medical responder/firefighter, Fire Chief Michael Pratt told the Beacon Falls Board of Selectmen last week.

The company’s sole daytime firefighter can’t keep up with all the calls they get, Pratt said.

“It has gone from a couple hundred calls a year to well over 500 or 600 calls a year,” said Jeremy Rodorigo from the fire company.

Those calls are for both fire and medical emergencies, and the new employee would handle both. In addition to the one paid staff member, the fire company relies on volunteers to respond to calls.

“It’s more than just the volunteers can handle,” Rodorigo said.

It’s getting harder and harder to find volunteers during the day.

“Before, we had a lot of kids around, but now a lot of kids have jobs,” Pratt said.

The trend is typical of what’s happening state-wide and nation-wide, Rodorigo said.

“At night, when everyone comes home from work, we’ve got more volunteers than we know what to do with,” he said.

The company hired its first employee a few years ago.

The company will pay for both positions with revenue generated from ambulance calls, Rodorigo said. The base pay for the position is $17 per hour.

“There’s no burden on the tax payer,” he said.

Rodorigo said the fire company doesn’t need permission from the Board of Selectmen for its new hire, but it’s important to collaborate with the town government.

“They way we understand the contract is we can add people as needed,” Rodorigo said. “We’re definitely going to let the Board of Selectmen know so they can be aware of what’s happening,” he said.

The job post is open from applications until Jan 25. Rodorigo said they hope to choose their new hire in February.