POLAND — Fire Rescue Chief Mark Bosse submitted his final report to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night with words of thanks as well as words of need.
Bosse, who is retiring with more than 20 years of service, thanked the town for its support and stated in his report, “I am very proud and honored to have been able to serve the citizens and visitors of the town of Poland in both my capacities as chief of Poland Fire Rescue and my two stints as interim town manager.”
Bosse also spoke of the need for additional call firefighters for the Fire Rescue Department, particularly in the evenings when, at times, Poland had to rely on mutual aid from other towns “because we couldn’t get a truck out the door.”
It is a dilemma that other Maine communities are facing as well, Bosse said. “Unfortunately, people don’t want to dive” into the job of a call fire rescue position.
“It’s not that we haven’t tried to get more people … it just has not worked,” Bosse told the board. He said they have tried to initiate a junior fire rescue educational program with the schools with little success.
Bosse acknowledged that the department has trained people to get their firefighter credentials, and they apply for a full-time position elsewhere and move on.
“It’s a challenge everyone is facing,” he said.
According to the department’s website, Poland employs one full-time chief, four career responders and 28 call/part-time fire/EMS providers.
Asked if hiring another full-time fireman would help the Poland situation, Bosse replied, “At some point it’s got to be looked at. … (but) it’s a pretty large number,” referring to the salary and benefits that would be required.
Another avenue could be “community regionalization,” Bosse suggested. “People don’t want to hear that exercise … get everybody to play well in the sandbox, get rid of the personal feelings if you will, and look at all the communities” to work together to share costs and savings.
Selectman Jimmy Walker and board Chairman Walter Gallagher agreed with Bosse, with Gallagher offering, “Somebody has to start it at some point. Someday somebody will.”
Selectmen thanked Bosse for his 20 years of service.
In other business, selectmen approved the expenditure of no more than $5,000 to Wright-Pierce for a cost estimate to extend water and extension lines on Route 26 and Route 122, and asked HEB Engineers to present a more accurate stormwater overflow system for the Municipal Complex Plan before being presented to the Planning Board.
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