Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department News Archives: 2015

Unique Birdhouses Highlight Art Auction to Benefit Old Orr’s Island Schoolhouse

By Dan Dostie

June 18, 2015

A variety of birdhouses custom decorated by area artists will be among many unique items up for bid July 11 at the fifth annual An Evening of Art auction to benefit the historic old Orr’s Island Schoolhouse.

Blank birdhouse models were distributed to interested artists, including area residents and seasonal visitors, to transform in any creative way. In past years, the event included decorated lunchboxes and lobster buoys, which proved to be quite popular and the object of spirited bidding.

Dozens of other items, including paintings, prints, photographs, jewelry and more will also be auctioned off at the event, to be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 11 at the schoolhouse, located at 1594 Harpswell Island Road, Route 24, Orr’s Island. Preview will begin at 6 p.m.

Light hors d'oeuvres, desserts, soda and wine will be served.
Artists participating this year include Doug Bane, Steve Black, Tom Brudzinski, Gloria Doughty, Dan Dostie, Patricia Fuchs, Robert Gibson, Margaret Leonard, Karen Loftus, Tim McCreight, Brad McFadden, Abigail Sibley, John Wright, Sam Wright, and more.

Tim McCreight

Artwork on sale will include many original pieces, as well as other items donated from private collections.

An important part of Harpswell history, the old schoolhouse was originally a two-room school for island children. Located next to the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department main station, the renovated building is used for a variety of community, public and private events.

The schoolhouse is self-supporting, depending on income from event rentals, fundraisers and donations to maintain the building and grounds and updating the aging structure.
For more information, please contact Brad McFadden at 833-6940 or Tim McCreight at 761-8217, or email artauction@orrsislandschoolhouse.com.

OBIFD Hosts Community Meeting on Wildfire Dangers

June 10, 2015

The Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department is hosting a community meeting on Monday to educate residents about wildfire dangers and how to protect homes and property during the high-risk summer months.

The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 15, at the old Orr's Island Schoolhouse, located next to the Orr's Island fire station, 1600 Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24. People of all ages are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.

According to the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Firewise Communities Program, the summer of 2015 is likely to present extremely dry and windy conditions, increasing the risk of wildfire activity. Preparation by property owners can help prevent fires from starting or spreading.

The meeting will offer advice on how to protect land and buildings from the potential of spreading fires.

Some of the advice includes:

Clear leaves and other debris from gutters, eaves, porches and decks
Keep lawns hydrated and maintained. Dry grass and shrubs are fuel for wildfire. If it is brown, cut it down to reduce fire intensity.
Remove dead vegetation within 30 to 100 feet of a structure.
Remove fuel within 3 to 5 feet of a home's foundation and outbuildings.
Wildfires can spread to tree tops. If there are large trees, prune them so the lowest branches are 6 to 10 feet high.
Don't let debris and lawn cuttings linger. Dispose of these items quickly to reduce fuel for fire.
When planting, choose slow-growing, carefully placed shrubs and trees so the area can be more easily maintained.

To help keep fires from starting on open land, tips include:

Obey outdoor burning bans. Don't burn trash or debris when conditions are dry or windy. Unsafe burning of leaves, brush, household trash and other debris is a main cause of wildfires.
If camping or hunting, check local restrictions on campfires. Use an approved gas stove as an alternative for heating and cooking. If charcoal grills are permitted, use them only over fireproof surfaces such as asphalt or bare mineral soil.
Dispose of smoking materials properly. Don't throw them out a window.
Avoid parking and idling in dry grass. Catalytic converters can get hot enough to ignite the grass.
Keep water available when using welding equipment or cutting torches around grass and brush. A five-gallon bucket of water with a tote sack in it could prove valuable if sparks or hot pieces of metal catch nearby grass on fire.
Avoid setting hot chainsaws or other gas-powered equipment in dry grass, which could ignite after coming into contact with hot mufflers.

More tips and information is available from the Firewise Communities Program at www.firewise.org.

OBIFD is an all-volunteer department which provides fire and medical rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24, including Long Point, and Mountain Road east of the Ewing Narrows bridge.

More information about the department is available at www.obifd.org.

Harpswell's other fire and rescue departments are the Cundy's Harbor Volunteer Fire Department, which serves all of Great Island from the Brunswick line to Stevens Corner Road on Route 24, and the Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue, which serves all areas off of Route 123, including

Mountain Road west of the Ewing Narrows bridge.

More information about the three departments, including how to join as a volunteer, is available at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org.

OBIFD Open on Saturdays to Accept Donations for Annual Auction and Yard Sale

June 1, 2015

The Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department is looking for donations for its annual auction and yard sale to be held August 8 and 9 at the fire station on Orr's Island.

Items may be dropped off at the fire station at 1600 Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays leading up to the big weekend. Donors can also call 833-5405 to arrange for free pickup of larger pieces or multiple items.

The fire department asks that no donations be left unattended at the station under any circumstances.

Over the years, the department has found that many items are difficult to sell or even give away and asks people not to donate microwave ovens, vacuums, dehumidifiers, electric stovetops, computer equipment, ski gear, golf clubs, couches or other stuffed furniture, mattresses and box springs, exercise equipment, aquariums, building materials, bath fixtures, appliances, lighting fixtures, metal bed frames, baby equipment, particleboard furniture, and plastic storage containers and cups.

Books are also not accepted, but can be donated to the Orr's Island Library for its August sale.

Items accepted for donation will be up for sale at either the yard sale held throughout the weekend or at the live auction on Sunday, August 10.

The yard sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 8, and again Sunday morning on the grounds of the fire station and inside the adjacent old Orr's Island Schoolhouse on Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24.

The live auction of some of the finer and fun items will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, with preview starting at 9 a.m. A wide variety of antique and fine furniture, historical artifacts, artwork and many other items will be up for bid as usual, with lots of interesting surprises along the way.

A silent auction of a variety of goods, services and experiences donated by area businesses will be open on both days. Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be offered for sale.

All proceeds from the event help fund the nonprofit volunteer department, which provides fire and rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island east of the Mountain Road bridge and south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24.

For more information, visit www.obifd.org or call 833-5405.

Artists Sought For Old Orr's Island Schoolhouse Art Auction

April 25, 2015

Artists are being sought to participate in the fifth annual An Evening of Art to benefit old Orr's Island Schoolhouse.

The auction of unique and high-quality art and crafts will be held on Saturday, July 11, at the schoolhouse, located on Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, in Orr's Island.

Art for sale at last year's auction.

Artists who work in any type of medium – including paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, jewelry, woodwork, textiles, ceramics, furniture, ironwork, glass and more – are invited to contribute their original creations. Local art collectors are asked to consider donating items from their collections to benefit the schoolhouse.

Participating artists can set a minimum bid for their work and opt to keep a portion of the selling price.

As a special feature this year, artists are being sought to bring their creative talents to several different styles of small birdhouses, which will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Past auctions featured lobster buoys and lunchboxes decorated in a wide variety of themes to create unique pieces of art which were enthusiastically sought by bidders.

Interested artists are asked to contact organizers as soon as possible to receive a birdhouse.

All artwork for the event will be needed by late June.

An important part of Harpswell history, the old schoolhouse was originally a two-room school for island children. Located next to the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department main station, the renovated building is used for a variety of community, public and private events. The schoolhouse is self-supporting, depending on income from event rentals, fundraisers and donations to maintain the building and grounds and updating the aging structure.

More than $7,000 was raised for the schoolhouse in each of the past two years.

This year’s auction will be held on Saturday, July 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. with preview beginning at 6 p.m. Light hors d'oeuvres, desserts, soda and wine will be served.

For more information, please contact Brad McFadden at 833-6940 or Tim McCreight at 761-8217, or email artauction@orrsislandschoolhouse.com.

More information on the schoolhouse is available at www.orrsislandschoolhouse.com.

Walter Johnson Becomes Chief of Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department

February 23, 2015

Chief Walter Johnson

A veteran volunteer with deep roots in the community has been named the new chief of the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department.

Walter Johnson was promoted to the post by the OBIFD Board of Directors. He replaced Ed Blain, who resigned the position after two years because of personal business commitments.

“I have some big shoes to fill, but hopefully I can live up to everybody’s expectations,” said Johnson, a 19-year department veteran. “I enjoy helping the community. I’ve always done it.”

Johnson’s family goes back about a dozen generations in the islands on his father’s side and several on his mother’s side. He grew up on Orr's Island and was in the last class which graduated from the old Orr’s Island Schoolhouse, which is now owned by the fire department.

Johnson, 63 in March, still lives on Orr’s Island. His wife, Sally Brooks, a beloved local school teacher, passed away last year.

Johnson’s interest in the department began when he was a child. In those days, a siren would sound to alert the volunteers and Johnson and his boyhood pals would often chase the fire trucks on their bicycles and watch the firefighters work.

As an adult, his work in commercial construction took Johnson out of town for many years, but once he settled down after three decades on the road, he joined the department. He has since served 14 years as a captain and became assistant chief two years ago, when Blain replaced longtime Chief Bill Beazley, who retired after many years on the job.

“Walter has been a member of the department for over 15 years. He is well trained and versed in the operations of the department,” said Blain, who recommended Johnson for the job. “His prior roles in the rescue and fire service, truck captain and assistant chief make him well qualified for the job. The fact that he was born on the islands and is well known in the community is an added benefit.”

Blain, who became chief in early 2013, said he recently had to return to his former position as chief executive officer of a health care company in Massachusetts, which requires frequent travel out of state for days at a time. As a result, Blain said he had no choice but to give up the chief’s position.

Blain, 57, said he and his wife, Laurie, both department volunteers and trained emergency medical technicians, also plan on moving from Bailey Island, ending their long service to OBIFD.

“My 10 years with the department have provided some of the best experiences of my life,” Blain said.

Mike Helfgott, president of the OBIFD Board of Directors, said Blain had done a remarkable job as chief and brought many updates and improvements to the department.

“He assumed the position of chief just at the time when his talents were needed to help our department confront the many challenges we, and emergency services in general, are facing,” Helfgott said. “Under his leadership we made immense gains in recruiting new responders, updating our many procedures, training our members, and bringing us and keeping us current in the increasingly important area of compliance. Along the way, Ed -- working with the town's other chiefs -- helped champion our collective effort to make all of us interoperable, thereby improving the service to the people of Harpswell.

“Besides all of that, he is a great friend whose wise counsel I'll miss," Helfgott said.

But he said the department is good hands with the new chief.

“I'm a firm believer that the right candidate comes along just when their particular skills are needed,” Helfgott said. “Just as we needed Ed Blain's talents to help us effect an awful lot of change, Walter is just the right person to help us consolidate the many changes we've made and bring a new level of stability to the department.

“More than that, I know that Walter is committed to working as a team to help us continue to successfully confront the many headwinds we continue to face. I share his goals of what lies ahead for the department in the next and coming years: recruitment, training, compliance and fiscal stability,” Helfgott said.

Former chiefs Bill Beazley, left, and Ed Blain,
center, with new OBIFD Chief Walter Johnson

For his part, Johnson said he plans no immediate changes and will continue to place an emphasis on recruiting new volunteers, training, compliance with ever-increasing state and federal regulations and closer cooperation with the town’s other two fire departments.

“Ed’s been an excellent chief. He left the department in good shape,” Johnson said. “We now have to continue that great job.”

Johnson has reappointed Cindy Watson of Bailey Island as captain in charge of the rescue unit. Steve Galhardo and Dan Perry will remain as fire captains and Watson and firefighter/rescue driver Jim Whittaker will be in charge of training. Lt. Steve Minkowsky will remain as compliance officer. Johnson said the assistant chief position will remain vacant for now.

In addition to naming Johnson as chief, the OBIFD Board of Directors also welcomed several new members following its annual reorganization in late January.

Joining the board for three-year terms are first-time members Bob Garver, Deane Kennedy and Mary Morgan, and former board member and rescue volunteer Brad McFadden.

They replace Maureen Anthoine-Orlandini, Ed Levine and Venise Minkowsky, who have all served the maximum of six consecutive years on the board, and Betsy Leland, who left because of increased business commitments.

In addition to those new members, Whittaker was appointed to fill the remaining two years of Johnson’s term as a responding board member. As chief, Johnson is automatically a board member.

The OBIFD board also saw changes in most of its officers. Helfgott was re-elected president of the board, while Catherine Birkinbine of Orr’s Island is vice president, Greg Leonard of Bailey Island is treasurer and Tim McCreight of Great Island is the new secretary.

OBIFD is an all-volunteer department which provides fire and medical rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24, including Long Point, and Mountain Road east of the Ewing Narrows bridge.

For more information on OBIFD or joining the volunteer crew, visit www.obifd.org or the town-wide recruitment and information site at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org.

More CPR Classes Planned For Harpswell Residents

February 23, 2015

More sessions in an ongoing series of community cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes are planned over the next several weeks at the old Orr's Island Schoolhouse.

The HeartSaver class designed to teach CPR and defibrillator use for adults, children and infants will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, March 23. This is the shorter version of a two-part course which will be offered in the spring that includes both CPR and first aid training. The program will lead to American Heart Association CPR certification.

The more basic Family and Friends CPR class, which provides practical hands-on training for people of any age who do not need official certification, will be offered on Monday, April 13, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The full HeartSaver program, which includes both CPR and first aid training, will be offered May 11 and May 18.

All the sessions will be held at the old Orr's Island Schoolhouse, located next to the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department on Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, Orr's Island.

Advance registration is required. To register, e-mail cpr@obifd.org or call Jim Whittaker at 207-833-3013.

Optional contributions of $20 for the HeartSaver program and $5 for the Family and Friends class will be accepted to cover the cost of course materials.

The classes are part of an effort by the town's three volunteer fire and rescue departments to make Harpswell a Maine HeartSafe Community, which includes widespread training in CPR and broad availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at public locations throughout the community. The goal is improve the “Chain of Survival” for people suffering from cardiac or breathing problems by providing help before emergency crews can arrive to render assistance.

More information of about the program is available by calling or e-mailing Whittaker.

Harpswell's 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.

Community CPR Class Set For February 9 at Orr's Island Schoolhouse

January 21, 2015

Harpswell residents of any age are urged to attend a community cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class planned for Monday, February 9, at the old Orr's Island Schoolhouse.

The Family & Friends CPR Class is designed to teach people of any age basic life-saving skills. Topics covered include adult Hands-Only CPR, child CPR with breaths, use of an automatic defibrillator on adults and children, infant CPR and relief of choking in an adult, child or infant.

Taught by volunteers from the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department, the American Heart Association program includes video instruction and hands-on practice using adult and child mannequins.

The class is recommended for any community member who would like to know CPR, but does not require an official certification card. It is open to people of all ages.

The program will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday, February 9, at the old Orr's Islands Schoolhouse, located next to the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department on Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, Orr's Island.

Advance registration is required. To register, e-mail cpr@obifd.org or call Jim Whittaker at 207-833-3013. A $5 optional contribution will be accepted to cover the cost of course materials.

The class is part of an effort by the town's three volunteer fire and rescue departments to make Harpswell a Maine HeartSafe Community, which includes widespread training in CPR and broad availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at public locations throughout the community. The goal is improve the “Chain of Survival” for people suffering from cardiac or breathing problems by providing help before emergency crews can arrive to render assistance.

Other classes providing higher levels of training, leading to official certification for both community members and health care professionals, will be offered throughout the year.

More information of about the program is available at www.obifd.org or by calling or e-mailing Whittaker.

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.

More information about the three departments, including how to join as a volunteer, is available at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org.