Baxter Fire Department is recruiting new volunteers and part-time staff to ensure the agency maintains the high volume of personnel required to safely manage structure fires.
Fire Chief Matthew White said the department typically hosts a certification class in the fall to train new volunteers and evaluate their interest in the role. White said the department also seeks to add more paid staff to the roster to decrease response times and improve outcomes during emergencies. In certain situations, it can take some dozen firefighters to safely respond on scene, according to White.
“Volunteers are great, they do a fantastic job, but it does take time for them to respond from work or their home in the middle of the night or during the day to get to the fire scene when if you have paid people that can be on scene, it just speeds the process up, puts the fire out faster, it helps to rescue people faster, hopefully reduce life and property damage,” White said.
White said the recruitment effort follows a recent social media post featuring an AI graphic created to illustrate the complexity of fire scenes. White said the graphic was intended to answer recurring questions from citizens regarding why so many firefighters are required to respond to a single call and has garnered a positive community response. White said coordination between local fire departments across neighboring jurisdictions is vital for keeping the region safe.
“It means everything because you got to have the collaboration between the people and what’s going on because it has to be timed,” White said. “You can’t send somebody in before you have everything ready on the outside. You have to have somebody ready to rescue, you have to have water supply established to be able to have water when you go into the scene of the fire. You need somebody to oversee and watch out for safety. All this stuff has to happen within just minutes of arriving on scene of fire.”
White said the department manages turnover by staying ahead of staffing changes and maintaining a positive work environment. White said while some volunteers eventually move on as their personal goals change, the department is thankful for the time they serve the community.
“New recruits will always help out, you know more people we can have on scene, more people we can have to be able to put on any type of fire or emergency scene, we like that,” White said. “It helps the citizens, it helps the people that are involved in it, and it helps protect ourselves.”
White said the department serves the Baxter city limits but maintains an auto-aid agreement with Putnam County to respond to a defined area outside the city. White said this collaboration allows both departments to put more hands on a scene quickly, such as on Buffalo Valley Road, where both agencies would respond to a house fire.
“We’re able to collaborate together, make things work good, you know, put a lot of people on scene real quickly to help extinguish the fire and limit some of the damage and hopefully save some a life at some point,” White said.
White said residents should ensure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and can contact the department for assistance with installation.
“We don’t want you to be without (it),” White said. “That’s the safest thing you can do to protect yourself, to be able to have that smoke alarm and early notice especially in the middle of the night.”
