By Julie Wernau
Published on 10/8/2004

Waterford -- Like most growing cities, New London gradually converted from an all-volunteer fire department to a professional one with paid firefighters.

Today not a single volunteer is left, and the city pays its 52 firefighters, 16 firefighter/emergency technicians and various support staff $5.3 million a year. Other fire department-related expenses cost New London an additional $1.2 million annually, said Lynn Nenni, deputy director of New London's finance department.

"I'm sure that if you grind all the numbers it's going to have to be cheaper for volunteers because there's no salary involved; there's no benefits involved," said Ronald Samul Sr., New London's sole fire chief, "... but it may not be as much as we think."

The decades-long transition also has changed the face of the city. Most of New London's eight volunteer firehouses have either been demolished or converted into restaurants, bars and private homes.

As Waterford studies the possibility of consolidating its five fire companies, town officials are studying not just whether three or even four firehouses would be cheaper than five, but whether, if firehouses were consolidated, the town would lose its volunteers.

Although in Samul's opinion, "Real firefighters... This is not a job, this is something that's in your heart. You do this first," he warned against a direct comparison between New London and Waterford. "We're really not a couple of oranges here. We're different."

In New London, which is much smaller in area, many firefighters volunteered at two or three companies, Samul said; whereas, in Waterford, the fire districts are distinct.

Right now, the town operates five fire departments and a dispatch center for $2.1 million, plus $586,000 in operating expenses.

Approximately 78 percent of the budget is salary for paid drivers, administrators and other staff but each station's unpaid, active volunteers and fire chief make up for the 20 or so personnel that would be needed to man each station.

"If we don't keep the volunteers going, we're in trouble," said Goshen Fire Chief Thomas Dembek.

Of course, volunteers aren't free: there's still the cost of uniforms, training, meeting OSHA requirements and running a firehouse.

The town does not technically own the five firehouses but rather contracts out their services and supplements their income for capital projects. "As long as they pay their charter fee every year and file with the secretary of state, they're a fire company," said Waterford's Director of Finance Ruth Beers. "They just won't get a town subsidy."

If the town decided not to fund all five firehouses anymore, Dembek said Waterford could choose to push for tax districts, a system used in Groton and Mystic.

During tax season, residents would receive an additional bill for fire services in order to pay for the fire service. Dembek said he hopes it doesn't have to come to that, but if closing firehouses means losing response time, he would consider pushing for tax districts. "People expect a good level of protection," he said.

However, Oswegatchie Fire Chief Jeffrey Lathrop warned that tax districts have potential to be classist.

"In some districts it would cost taxpayers a lot more money," he said.

Another option for the fire companies, one suggested by Fire Commissioner Eric Munsell, would be keeping all five fire companies, but paying a single chief to take care of budgets, planning and other matters.

"I agree with the concept of just one boss," said Munsell. "We spend more time and effort on a budget night just dealing with five separate departments."

Beers said that since energy deregulation, the money is tighter. The town is asking a lot of volunteer fire chiefs who must work full-time jobs in addition to volunteering for the fire service, she said. "Now the money is getting tighter and people are being held to a higher budgetary standard," she said.

Jordan Fire Chief Timothy Sullivan wasn't convinced that it would be possible to unite five companies under one chief. In the early days, whichever fire company put water on a fire first received a stipend, Sullivan said. The firehouses, said Sullivan, in addition to avidly retaining their individuality, still have a somewhat competitive relationship. One fire chief could be a possibility for the future, but right now, he said, it would kill off volunteers.

Cohanzie Fire Chief William Henderson said, "If it's not broken, why fix it? Another layer of administration is not the answer."Already the fire companies go through a Board of Fire Commissioners and Fire Administrator Bruce Miller, who is responsible for fire commission administration but not the day -to-day operations of the firehouses.

Beers said that what an administrator could offer would be long-term planning for the aging firehouses and equipment. In the past, firehouses have had to be fixed in a state of crisis (i.e., a condemned second floor in Quaker Hill, an uninsured Jordan).

"The major focus is fire fighting and nobody can fault them for that," Beers said.

However, Henderson said the chiefs have done a knock-up job so far, getting a lot of repairs done for cheaper. Right now they're looking into every grant they can find to help cover costs. "There's a lot of grants out there. We just need to get someone to the table to get them here," he said.

Munsell said a single fire chief could assure that firehouses are taking the cheapest bidder. In the past, he said, "It was my cousin who runs the garage."

Sullivan, who didn't grow up in Waterford, said, "In this town, it's the good old boys network."

As for Beers, she said she's not ready to crunch any numbers out until she sees a final study. The staffing requirements for a town with fewer firehouses, the deficiencies of the buildings themselves, and the ramifications of relocation are still big question marks, she said.

The fire service will bring forward a study Nov. 23.