Egremont voters hire full-time paid firefighters as town moves to professional department

Egremont voters hire full-time paid firefighters as town moves to professional department

Like other Berkshire towns, Egremont is moving to a full-time, paid fire and emergency department. Volunteers are aging and harder to come by, creating a safety issue.

Shrinking Number of CT Firefighters Seen as ‘Public Safety Crisis’

HARTFORD, CT – As state comptroller, Sean Scanlon is more accustomed to dealing with financial emergencies than those involving emergency responders. But it was Scanlon, backed by fire officials from across the state, who presented a report on the state of firefighting in Connecticut on Tuesday. The bottom line, he said, is that firefighter recruitment […]

CT volunteer firefighter ranks have shrunk by 62.7%: ‘Wake-up call’

The ranks of volunteer firefighters, who are the first line of fire protection in a majority of Connecticut communities, have shrunk by a stunning 62.7% since the completion of the last firefighter census in 2017. A study by the office of Comptroller Sean Scanlon documents what Scanlon called “a recruitment and retention crisis in the fire service in this state and in this country.” “What this report, I believe, is meant to do is serve as a wake…

Connecticut sees 63% drop in volunteer firefighters

State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said a new report on firefighter staffing should serve as a wake-up call to secure more resources for fire departments