Increasing regulations, aging equipment and decreasing government grants are among challenges facing the Haines Volunteer Fire Department, said Scott Bradford, who this week resigned the position of fire chief after 18 years on the job.
Bradford turned over his gavel to incoming chief Greg Palmieri at the department’s annual dinner Monday.
The chief position oversees the department’s 45 volunteers, including the ambulance crew, helps set its $250,000 budget, and enforces code and state law regarding fire regulations. Paid $500 per month, the fire chief attends as many as three department meetings per month and is expected to respond to all fires, Bradford said.
While gear improvements have increased safety for firefighters in the past two decades, new training requirements and regulations have added complications, Bradford said. For example, some forms of required, specialized training for hazardous materials consume time that would be better spent on practical drills more suited to Haines, he said.
The department needs to replace its main pumper truck, a 1976 model, but as departments elsewhere are keeping aging equipment due to tight funding, buying a used model may not be an option. There is $220,000 saved for the purchase, but a new pumper costs $400,000 or more, Bradford said.
Firefighters’ air packs must be replaced in six years and will cost $165,000. New gear for a single firefighter – helmet, boots, gloves and jacket – costs $2,500, and gear in use is showing its age.
“We can’t meet the date when we’re supposed to get rid of it, which raises potential liability problems… So there are some things we have to live with. It’s a balancing act,” Bradford said.
Bradford, who joined the department almost 30 years ago, will stay on as firefighter. Bradford’s wife Candi said she’s looking forward to getting more uninterrupted sleep. The Bradfords’ two children fare better, as they were born knowing the sound of the radioed fire alert, she said. “We never heard a peep from them. They sleep right through it.”
The fire department recorded 24 fire call-outs in 2015 and estimated the year’s total fire damage at $110,000. There were 294 ambulance calls.