Fire Department seeks call firefighter recruits

Jan. 26, 2017 | Chris Goudreau
cgoudreau@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW – Looking to start a career in fire and rescue? The Fire Department is seeking applications for two to three new call firefighters. The deadline is April 7 by 1 p.m.

Fire Chief Paul Morrissette told Reminder Publications if an applicant is selected for a position they would be required to undergo training.

“It begins in July and runs approximately four months,” he added. “It’s a couple nights a week and most Saturdays and a few Sundays in that mix. It’s a huge commitment on the recruits’ part. There’s a lot of hands-on practical training from your basic use of the fire gear to fighting multi levels of fire in a training environment. They also get involved in a little bit of the rescue work … Then there’s an incredible amount of bookwork. The skills and knowledge that they have to obtain in this day and age is different than it was 30 or 40 years ago.”

Additionally there will be two to three month of further training before recruits become probationary firefighters, according to information from the department.

He added the department provides its recruits with structural firefighting gear and an air pack – close to $10,000 worth of equipment.

“It’s equipment that we have,” he noted. “It’s not equipment that I have to go out and buy.”

Morrissette said the department currently has a staff of 23 call firefighters and typically seeks to increase that number by two or three people every year.

“You lose a couple every year through attrition,” he explained. “I’ve got a couple of guys that are thinking about retiring. I want to make sure I have some new blood.”

Training recruits at the firefighter academy costs the town of East Longmeadow a very minimal amount of money, Morrissette noted.

A list of requirements for the positions are that applicants be at least 19 years old, reside in East Longmeadow or within one mile of the town line, and not use tobacco products. Selected applicants must also be able to pass a physical exam and the Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information report prior to beginning training. Attendance and graduation from the training program is a requirement as well as receiving a Firefighter I or II certification, which is a national certification, according to the department.

Morrissette said a high school diploma is also required to apply for the positions.

He added the last group of call firefighters that the department hired had young families living in town.

“They graduated in November – they’ll be here for a while,” he noted. “We’re looking for somebody that wants to settle in East Longmeadow and be here for a while. We do get the young kids that come in and we put them through the training and a couple of years later they’re lucky enough to get a career job somewhere else, which I encourage because there’s some talent out there. We lost one to Westfield recently. We lost one to Longmeadow about a year and a half ago … You want to encourage that if it’s a step for them and helps out.”

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