Amherst Fire Volunteers Steadily Growing

Apathy doesn’t seem to be a factor when it comes to protecting the good people of Amherst.

The Amherst Fire Department has enjoyed a steady growth of new firefighters over the past few years, according to Fire Chief Mark Boynton.

A recent article from the Union Leader concluded that many New Hampshire towns are finding it hard to find and keep new firefighters.

Boynton said that his department is defying the odds.

The chief said that there were 31 volunteers when he started in July of 2010, but the department now has 38 members and more are on their way. Five more volunteers have been interviewed in the past month.

This is an impressive number considering the fact that many firefighters and potential volunteers are having financial troubles in a bad economy.

“A lot of them, including us, are feeling the crunch of the economy,” said Boynton. “It is tough for people to show up when they are struggling with problems like layoffs. We hear all it and we know it affects them.”

Boynton said that the volunteerism is especially impressive considering the amount of unpaid training and classes needed to become a firefighter at the volunteer fire department.

Deputy Chief Matt Conley said that they have been doing a good job at recruiting members at events and through word of mouth. He added that the fire department does what it can to support volunteers interested in serving as firefighters.

The men and womn at the Amherst Fire Department are an eclectic mix, according to Boynton. They include electricians, laborers, managers and other different types that give the department strength through diversity. Each of their professions adds valuable skills to emergencies and operation of the station, such as knowledge of electrical wiring or plumbing.

“When there is a call, you have a mix of skills,” said Boynton. “It makes us a very strong organization.”

Many of the volunteers also work in finance, which comes in handy when it comes time to put together budgets.

“To us, those are tools in the toolbox,” said Conley.

Unfortunately, a changing job landscape has forced many workers to commute to their jobs, which means that many volunteers are out of town during the day. This is especially true for Amherst, which has always been a mostly bedroom community.

“Amherst has some industry and a decent amount of retail, but is still a bedroom-type community,” said Conley. “We have guys are working in Manchester, Nashua or travelling to Massachusetts and their availability during the day becomes tougher.”

The fire department may have volunteers coming in, but that also means added financial stress and the challenge of getting them outfitted for the job.

“The challenge this creates for us is finding gear for these people and making payroll next year on a default budget,” said Boynton. “Each new member represents an estimated $1,500 dollars in annual pay. All things considered it’s a good problem to have.”

Boynton said that he is proud to be one of the few fire departments in the state to have a population over 10,000 without a full-time fire department. He said that there are no plans to move towards one and wants to continue offering “cost-efficient fire protection” to the citizens of Amherst.