September 15, 2014
Harpswell's three fire and rescue departments are inviting residents to attend upcoming training sessions to prepare to fill much-needed roles as volunteer emergency drivers.
The two-part program, scheduled for the last week of September, will train volunteers to drive an ambulance, paramedic car and other vehicles used in emergency response by the Cundy's Harbor, Harpswell Neck and Orr's and Bailey Islands fire departments.
The drivers are a key component to the town's fire and rescue services. When a medical rescue call comes in, a volunteer ambulance crew is dispatched from one of the three departments, along with a paid paramedic who services the entire town. On each call, volunteers are needed to operate both the ambulance and the paramedic's sports utility vehicle, which must follow the ambulance while the paramedic accompanies the patient to the hospital.
Volunteers can also be trained to drive tanker trucks, which shuttle water to fight fires, and other trucks, including fire engines and utility vehicles.
Trained volunteers are issued pagers to alert them to calls and hand-held radios to indicate their response and other communications. The drivers, when available, report to their local fire and rescue station and ride in the ambulance along with volunteer emergency medical technicians. After the hospital run, the drivers return to the station in the ambulance.
In addition to those duties, drivers can also assist the EMTs and paramedics with other tasks, including helping to lift and carry patients or retrieve items from the ambulance or paramedic car, especially in remote locations, such as the many trails and beaches along the town's coastline.
"Typically when we respond to a call on a trail, we have a patient who is badly injured and can't walk out. Carrying someone out on a long board is big team effort. A twisted knee, loss of consciousness, bad cut, bleeding, dislocated shoulder or hip and broken bones are all typical things we have encountered on such calls," said Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Chief Ed Blain.
"Being available to drive or help carry someone out of a spot like that is exactly the kind of low training skill set that can allow a lot of people a volunteer role that can really make a difference," Blain said.
Blain, who coordinates recruitment for the three departments, said the training includes a classroom session featuring videos and discussion regarding safe driving practices with an emergency vehicle. The classroom session alone will qualify a volunteer to drive the paramedic car on rescue calls. A separate hands-on training session will qualify drivers to operate the ambulance and other apparatus in emergency situations.
The two-hour classroom training will be offered twice: at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, at the Orr's Island Fire Station, 1600 Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, on Orr's Island; or at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Harpswell Neck fire station, 1430 Harpswell Neck Road, Route 123.
The hands-on driving course will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Mitchell Field on Route 123 in Harpswell Neck. Ambulance training will begin as early as 8 a.m. Tanker training will be held following the ambulance sessions. Training on other vehicles may be held later for each department, as needed.
Attendance at a classroom session is required to take the road class.
Volunteers must be at least 21 years old and hold a valid Maine drivers license not under suspension. Trainees should bring their license to the sessions.
The training is open to both current volunteers and interested newcomers. Trainees who are not current members can register by submitting an online application at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org.
Blain said the training program will allow volunteers to help serve their community in a meaningful way while learning skills they can use in their everyday lives.
"The information is pertinent to daily driving and is something most people will find interesting and informative," Blain said. "This training develops skills that will make people better drivers in their personal vehicles."
In addition to drivers, the departments are looking for volunteers to fill other high- and low-skill roles, such as emergency medical technicians, firefighters and fire support personnel. Volunteers are also sought to serve on the departments' independent board of directors and help out at community events, such as open houses and fundraisers.
More information is available online at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org or by calling Blain at 833-5199.
The three fire and rescue departments include Cundy's Harbor Volunteer Fire Department, which serves all of Great Island from the Brunswick line to Stevens Corner Road on Route 24; Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue, which serves all areas off of Route 123, including Mountain Road west of the Ewing Narrows bridge; and the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department, which serves Orr's, Bailey and part of Great Island south of Stevens Corner road and east of the Ewing Narrows bridge.