Days of All-Volunteer Essex, MA, Fire Department May be Ending

ESSEX — When Fire Chief Christian Hassel last week gave selectmen an overview of a five-year plan for the all-volunteer Essex Fire Department, the upshot was the days of volunteer firefighting may be coming to an end.

“I think we’re kind of at the end of that being viable for us,” the chief said of the volunteer model used in Essex.

“It’s pretty demanding of time when you have a primary role (another professional job) and family,” he told selectmen at their meeting. “It’s not just an easy thing to volunteer. There’s a lot of dedication. We’re lucky that we have a lot of dedicated folks.”

Hassel’s five-year plan considered the immediate future and what the next several years might look like. The goal, he said, is to “drive responsible and impactful growth.

“This growth is needed to combat the competing priorities of the call workforce,” he said. “This isn’t an Essex specific problem, but one that impacts call and volunteer departments nationwide. The solutions provided are designed to provide a fiscally responsible path forward while starting to address the needs of the department.”

The Essex Fire Department currently consists of about 40 call emergency responders, two engines, one ladder truck, one squad vehicle, two ambulances equipped for basic life-saving, one marine unit and one tender, he said.

Equipment, manpower

Possible “solutions” being considered, Hassel said, include hiring one full-time fire prevention officer, slated to take place in the fall, replacement of the department’s 33-year-old tender and the addition of another full-time firefighter next spring.

The tender, he said, provides additional water support at fires, especially when access to fire hydrants is not available.

“It allows us to bring water where we need it.”

The department is also seeking to replace the 22-year-old Engine 1, the 17-year-old Engine 2, and at least one of its two ambulances that Hassel said need to be replaced about every five years.

The projection for the next several years, he said, includes adding additional apparatus, making the fire chief position a full-time job, adding a command vehicle, adding additional shifts for call members, replace aging radios and changing the wage and salary scale to reflect each staff member’s rank.

“I think that my position should be a full-time position at some point within the next five years,” Hassel said. “I’m not advocating for a job for myself. I am just saying that it needs to be a full-time position.”

He said while a request has been made in the past for full-time staff, the request “was unsuccessful.”

For now, Hassel said scheduling firefighters has presented a host of challenges.

“Those shifts are there for a reason,” he said. “We need help during the day when all our members are at work or some sort of primary role. Our membership (is) responsible for going to calls 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Training, tactics and equipment maintenance needs also present challenges.

“They all create a significant workload that demands a full-time staff,” he said. “Emergencies, unfortunately, don’t wait for a time that’s convenient,” the chief said. “When they happen, we have an obligation to provide a professional, effective and timely response. We’re playing catch-up on staffing. The needs of the department have exceeded a part-time or call effort.

“We have a need — I would say an obligation — to be more proactive versus reactive when it comes to emergency preparedness.”

Budget, compensation

The department’s annual budget amounts to $560,000, compared with budgets of $1.9 million in Manchester-by-the-Sea and a $674,826 in Rockport, Hassel said.

Both Essex and Rockport have fire departments that are considered “100% call” departments, according to data he provided.

“I think size-wise and population-wise, we are on the smaller side,” he said. “We are the smallest budget, that is, our fire and ambulance budget combined on an annual basis.”

The department’s “call members” are compensated for training, clerical work and hazard mitigation. Much training and certification is required to do the job as a call firefighter, which for some roles requires several dozen hours of training, Hassel said.

“All responders are call members,” he said. “Meaning, they only get compensated when they come in.”

Plus, there are two eight-hour shifts available daily.

In addition to the emergency responses firefighters attend to, Hassel pointed to the department’s fire prevention efforts, including fire inspection services for new structures, commercial and residential buildings, and the instillation and proper maintenance of fire and smoke detection systems.

“There’s a whole fire prevention piece,” he said. “We have a fire prevention obligation.”