Changes are afoot in the Cranberry Isles. While Great Cranberry Island and Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) have had private fire associations for decades, they have had to rely on private donations and local fund-raising efforts to meet their goals. All that changed at Town Meeting in March, when the town voted to create the Cranberry Isles Municipal Fire Department, and to guarantee a constant source of funding to its two fire stations.
Phil Whitney, who is the training officer for the Great Cranberry Fire Department, says that becoming a municipal fire department, “we were very dependent on donations and public relations. We’ve been very fortunate with donations. Now that the town funds the departments, there is not the same sense of urgency.” Another benefit is that the town covers the insurance and liability for the two departments, which lowers their costs. Courtney Chaplin, Chief of the Islesford Fire Department, adds that “everyone benefits from fire protection, and since the pay in is based on the worth of one’s property, it’s more fair than going around asking for donations.”
The Cranberry Isles Municipal Fire Department is an organization with a unique problem. Because the two stations are on different islands, they require two separate organizations to manage them. Additionally, the two departments have differing equipment needs, training schedules and organizational structure. For example, Great Cranberry Island’s firehouse contains two pumper trucks and an ambulance, which belongs to an adjunct organization, the Cranberry Isles Rescue Service. Islesford, on the other hand, has no trained medical personnel, and until recently was equipped only with an aging wildfire truck and a small-volume pumper truck.
But the challenges to the fire department are more extensive. Because the town of Cranberry Isles is comprised of five islands, the decision was made to create five distinct fire protection zones, which will be almost completely independent in terms of equipment and responsibilities. Sutton Island, a roadless summer island, is exploring obtaining an ATV and portable pump to fight wildfires or to contain small fires. Identifying residents who are willing to obtain fire training and become familiar with the operation of such a system will not be a simple task.
The creation of a municipal fire department has injected fresh energy into the fire departments. According to Phil Whitney, Great Cranberry has doubled its roster and is training new firefighters. Islesford has embarked on a training regimen coordinated with the Maine Fire Training and Education service, and has purchased 10 sets of new turnout gear. Chaplin says that while the new energy and membership is exciting, “the most important asset we have is volunteers. We can’t overwhelm them with too much training all of a sudden. We have to retain our volunteers.”
To supplement the town’s fire department budget, the Islesford Fire Department has been pursuing grant funding. In May, the State Planning Office awarded an Urgent Needs Grant of $17,000 to replace the pumper truck destroyed this winter when the truck froze. This grant award will augment almost $4,000 in local donations raised to replace the damaged truck. In November, the department will receive word on whether it received a $170,000 request from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Program for a tanker truck. The two new trucks, coupled with training and personal protective equipment, will largely fill the department’s short-term needs.
The town is addressing public safety in further ways. The Islesford Fire Department has been spearheading an effort to join the Hancock County Radio Communications Committee, which provides rapid contact with ambulance services and other county fire departments within the 911 dispatch system, as well as state forest rangers and the LifeFlight service. The department is ordering pagers and radios, which will be integrated into the local emergency response system. The town of Cranberry Isles is also drafting an Addressing Ordinance, which will provide for naming the roads and assigning house numbers. This effort is essential to join the Enhanced 911 system.
The two fire departments are also providing rescue service and medical training. The Great Cranberry Fire Department is already affiliated with the Cranberry Isles rescue service, and has sponsored a CPR/AED class, and will offer another this August. The Islesford Fire Department is also offering CPR/AED, and will begin a First Responder course this coming December. The department will then also operate a licensed non-transporting First Responder service, which will be a great benefit to islanders. Great Cranberry is considering offering a similar course.
Some of the difficulties facing island fire departments also extend to any small rural fire department. Member recruitment is always an issue, as is maintaining and procuring equipment. However, training is not as difficult to obtain as one might expect, considering that instructors have to juggle numerous obligations to their own departments with the ferry schedule. According to Chaplin, “we’ve had excellent support from the Mt. Desert, Ellsworth, Blue Hill and Brooklin fire chiefs, as well as people from the Maine Fire Training and Education group.”
Considering that the Cranberry Isles are separated from Mt. Desert Island by several miles, mutual aid is not the impossibility that one might think. While firefighting vehicles will not be barged out for emergencies, the Coast Guard has agreed to carry Southwest Harbor firefighters, and Mt. Desert firefighters can respond from Northeast Harbor. Because of the low call volume in the Cranberry Isles, it is beneficial that firefighters with greater experience can carry with them thermal imaging cameras and air packs to assist with emergencies.
Jesse Minor is an Island Institute Fellow in the town of Cranberry Isles.