Anyone who has lived in New Fairfield for some time, knows that much of the town runs with the help of volunteers. There are tons of opportunities to give back to the community, whether your cup of tea is sorting clothes at The Thrift Shop, walking dogs at the animal shelter, or organizing donations at the local churches… and goodness knows that there’s an entire fleet of volunteers with varied roles that orbit the schools. However, there’s one vital service that takes volunteering to the next level: Firefighting.

The long and short of it is that the New Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department (NFVFD) is in need of more volunteers. The current band of devoted adults and teens who volunteer at either Company “A,” Ball Pond, or Squantz Pond’s Fire Departments, are committed to their service—many serve for decades—but more help is definitely needed. To a person, these generous folks all have busy lives, either working or in school full time, and more hands for on-call coverage for roughly one-hundred calls per month would certainly help.  The NFVFD website notes that all are welcome to volunteer as a firefighter, including 16 to 18-year olds, for whom there is a vibrant program. They find that different people volunteer for different reasons: maybe they want to make sure the department is fully staffed in case their friends and family are in need, perhaps they wanted to help someone in the past, but didn’t have the proper skills, you can suppose that they are looking for the friends and camaraderie that comes with the service,  they might want to fill their retirement years…whatever the reason, all are welcome.  

In return for their time and energy, any takers receive all firefighter training and equipment that is needed to safely help their neighbors. On Monday nights there is a weekly training on fire engines and ambulances and there are less-frequent, state-certified trainings as well. The training is said to help members to “stay up-to-date on skills in fighting fires, vehicle extrication, trauma, medical care, and so much more.” The benefits are many, from the altruistic rewards of saving lives and property to the tangible perks, such as property tax reductions, a Length of Service Award Program with retirement benefits, scholarship opportunities, professional development, leadership training, and much more. The volunteers also receive the gratitude of all town residents, including Selectman Khris Hall who said, “New Fairfield depends on our volunteer fire department to save lives and property.  I am grateful to the men and women in our fire companies who spend many hours of their time each month learning skills, maintaining equipment, and performing drills, as well as fighting fires. In addition to saving lives, they save New Fairfield taxpayers at least $2,000,000 a year.”

NFVFD is proud of its history of volunteer firefighters who have provided fire and medical services to the citizens of the Town, first as three separate entities, ultimately joining as one department in 1981. The fire department provides emergency medical service (EMS) through a combination of volunteer EMTs (emergency medical technicians), volunteer MRTs (medical response technicians), a staff paramedic dedicated to New Fairfield, and a staff EMT 7 days a week from 6 am to 6pm. The town’s two ambulances stand ready in the Company A firehouse.

 If you’re interested in adding “hero” to your resume, please visit one of the stations—Ball Pond VFC, Squantz Engine Company, or Company A—or contact Fire Chief Bruce Taylor at nfchief@newfairfield.org or 203-312-5732.