Saturday, November 8, 2008 6:01 AM EST
By Abbe Smith, Register Staff
WEST HAVEN — The West Haven Fire Department is looking for a few good firefighters — preferably those certified as paramedics.
Center District Chief James P. O’Brien said the department is accepting applications and looking to hire six new people.
“We are in dire straits for paramedics,” O’Brien said Wednesday.
O’Brien said six is a lot of firefighters to be down at one time, but stressed that the urgency has more to do with the department’s need for paramedics.
The department has five firefighters certified as paramedics.
He said the department should have a minimum of four paramedics per shift, but is making do with one or two paramedics per shift.
“These guys are getting overwhelmed with the call volume,” he said. “Not only are they overwhelmed, but they are getting ordered in quite often, too.”
Part of the problem is that of the recent rash of retirements — some of them unexpected — two of the outgoing men were paramedics.
Fire Lt. Timothy Day, who also serves as union president, and firefighter Rick Fontana, both of whom are paramedics, retired recently on department-related disabilities.
In addition to four retirements in the past year, the department also saw the retirement last year of longtime Chief William S. “Wiggy” Johnson Jr. and William L. Abbott, who retired after only seven months as chief.
The minimum requirement for someone wanting to apply for one of the openings is certification as an emergency medical technician.
However, the department will give preference to paramedics when making hiring decisions.
O’Brien warned that if the department is not able to hire more paramedics it might have to consider dropping its paramedic service all together and revert to basic life support service only.
But O’Brien said he is confident that the department’s strategy of advertising the jobs locally, regionally and nationally will result in a qualified pool of applicants.
Applications, which can be downloaded from the department’s Web site at www.westhavenfiredept.com, must be mailed to the department at 366 Elm St., West Haven 06516, and must be postmarked by Dec. 6.
The test for applicants will be held Dec. 20 with an agility test to follow Jan. 3.
The Connecticut Fire Academy training school for the new recruits starts Feb. 2 in Windsor Locks.
For more information, call the West Haven Fire Department at 937-3710.
Abbe Smith can be reached at asmith@nhregister.com or 789-5615.
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