
| Deputy Chief of Operations Hale Fitzgerald |
2023 was a year of progress for the New Gloucester Fire Rescue Department. Our members responded to a wide variety of calls, trained on many different subjects, and interacted with our community on multiple levels. We had many promotions, and removed many interim tags off of titles within our ranks. The result is a settled, stable leadership team ready to move the department forward to best serve the community.
Incident Statistics
What stood out in 2023 was the complexity of incidents we responded to. To quote Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain for the FDNY in 2001, “You show up. You put one foot in front of another. You get on the rig and you go out and you do the job—which is a mystery. And a surprise. You have no idea when you get on that rig. No matter how big the call. No matter how small.” Father Judge delivered these words on September 10, 2001. Father Judge would sadly lose his life a day later at the World Trade Center.
In 2023, our members responded to an explosion, which sadly resulted in the loss of life for a beloved community member. In October, members responded without hesitation to assist in Lewiston with a tragic mass shooting, with the biggest concern on their mind being how we can help? Countless times we interact with friends, neighbors, or strangers on what is one of the worst days of their life. We hear them, empathize with them, and help them. That’s what we do. We get on the rig and we do our job.
In terms of volume, 2023 was our third busiest year on record, down slightly from 2022. We finished with 639 calls for service, compared to 681 the year before. This is our fourth consecutive year being over 600 calls for service.
Below is a graph showing the breakdown of our last five years, with the last three being our busiest.
Here are specifics on 2023 incidents:
EMS Calls
NGFR responded to 438 EMS-related calls in 2023. This number not only includes our 354 patients experiencing a medical emergency, but 84 motor vehicle accidents. Of our 438 EMS calls, we transported 248 patients to the hospital (57% of EMS calls and 39% of our total call volume).
NGFR EMS providers take pride in providing excellent patient care on every EMS call. Incidents often call for immediate and sometimes lifesaving interventions. In 2023, our providers started 151 IV’s, assessed 135 12-lead EKGs, monitored 102 cardiac rhythms, and applied 16 cervical collars. Our EMS providers administered nitroglycerin 19 times, ondansetron (Zofran) 18 times, aspirin 16 times, and fentanyl 9 times.
Ambulance 1 responded to a total of 456 emergencies in 2023.

Fire Calls
Our ability to respond and be reactive was put to the test on occasion in 2023, with our members stepping up to the challenge. Our members responded to 201 calls for fire service, along with the 84 motor vehicle accidents. Engine 2 was our busiest fire company, responded to 150 emergencies, followed by Engine 3 with 113 responses. Included in our 201 calls, were 26 calls for actual fires. Our members were able to preserve approximately $992,220 worth of property through fire department intervention on these calls. Other common responses include hazardous conditions, odor investigations, alarm activations, and wires down calls.
We had two all-hands building fires this year. Both fires had a substantial head start prior to our arrival on scene, requiring fast and effective decision making from our members. The fire on Sabbathday Road in March originally had reports of trapped victims. Members arrived on scene and quickly applied water (within 7 minutes from the initial dispatch). Additional members were able to conduct an aggressive search of the structure ahead of a hose line. While the reports of victims were unfounded, our members demonstrated the mission of the fire department to save lives, stabilize the incident, and preserve property.
Our other all-hands fire occurred on Shaker Road. Again, members arrived on scene within 7 minutes of the initial dispatch. Engine 3 arrived with four members due to a new hire completing orientation and a live-in student who was available. With the additional manpower on the first engine, the first arriving companies were able to put lines in service and stop the fire from spreading to the main house. A National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) study has shown 4-person fire companies being 30% more effective than 2-person fire companies, and 25% more effective than 3-person fire companies. This effectiveness was demonstrated at this fire.

Mutual Aid
Mutual Aid continues to be an increasingly important supplement for our organization. For 2023, we gave aid 60 times, and received aid 84 times. By comparison, in 2021, the numbers showed us aid 53 times and giving aid 49 times. In 2022 we received aid 65 times while providing aid 60 times. Of the 84 times we received mutual aid in 2023, 26 were due to our ambulance being on another medical call or out of service for maintenance. New Gloucester, and many of our surrounding communities, can handle about one emergency at a time. In 2023, we had 99 overlapping calls, 15% of our call volume. Some of these calls are storm-related and a response can be delayed. Other times, the next available unit is needed immediately. This is when mutual aid is often relied on.
New Gloucester and surrounding communities also have automatic aid responses for reported building fires, auto extrications, and other serious calls that are manpower-intensive. In 2023, New Gloucester and Gray worked to have a mutual response to sections of the turnpike in both communities. This is a proactive measure that communities take to ensure they have the correct resources on scene to mitigate the emergency.

Personnel
2023 was a big year for personnel changes. Craig Bouchard was named Chief of Department, taking over from his interim status on July 17. Subsequent promotions followed, with Hale Fitzgerald moving from captain to deputy chief, Chris Gill from lieutenant to captain, Lee Johnson from firefighter to lieutenant, and Nick Hegarty from firefighter to lieutenant.
In addition, firefighters Isaac Haskins, Harrison Ruhlin, Ella Boucher, and Conor Davis received their black shields marking their completion of Firefighter I and II. Firefighters Isaac Haskins, Noah Larrabee, and Conor Davis all attained their Maine EMS licenses this year as well.

Incidents of Note
- January: 23-NG0003 A1 and crew handled a patient in labor with multiple complications. The crew in A1 performed life-saving interventions for the unborn child, delivering the patient to Labor & Delivery at MMC within an hour of the initial call, where the patient was able to deliver twin girls.
- February: 23-NG0071 Crews handled a snowmobile accident with life-threatening injuries and structural collapse. A1 rapidly transported a trauma patient to Maine Medical Center, delivering the patient to definitive care in less than 50 minutes from being dispatched.
- March: 23-NG0104: Companies operated at a building fire on Sabbathday Road. The original call had a report of victims trapped. First-arriving companies had water on the fire within 2 minutes of on scene arrival and within 7 minutes of the initial dispatch. They were able to flow and knock the fire back in order to search for victims. Additional crews searched by entering a window in the rear of the structure and going beyond the room to meet up with the crew on the hose line. We train our members to aggressively occupy the interior and searchable space. For many, this was their first fire. They accomplished this mission, giving any potential victims the best chance for the best possible outcome.
- April: 23-NG0166: Engine 2 and Tank 2 responded mutual aid to a 3 alarm building fire in Pownal. Engine 2 established a water supply at a draft site and Tank 2 shuttled water. Crews returned after four and a half hours of work.
- April: 23-NG0174: Engine 2 and Utility 1 responded as mutual aid to Raymond for a 3 alarm woods fire. Crews dug fire line and cleaned up hot spots, returning to town after 2 hours.
- July: 23-NG0308 Mutual Aid to Auburn for a multiple alarm building fire. Engine 3 and crew performed fire attack, RIT, and overhaul. Engine 3 returned to service after 3 hours.
- July: 23-NG0314 Mutual Aid to Durham for a multiple alarm building fire. Tank 2 supplied 6 loads of water (approximately 15,000 gallons) before returning in service after 3.5 hours.
- July: 23-NG0318 Motor Vehicle Accident with entrapment on Maine Street. A1 transported a trauma patient to the hospital, providing care at the paramedic level.
- July: 23-NG0320 Motor Vehicle Accident on I-95 SB. A1 transported a trauma patient to the hospital, providing care at the paramedic level.
- July: 23-NG0321 Motorcycle Accident on Bald Hill Road. A1 transported a trauma patient to the hospital, providing care at the paramedic level.
- August: 23-NG0359 Motor Vehicle Accident on Lewiston Road involving 3 vehicles and multiple patients. A1 delivered a trauma patient to MMC in 51 minutes from the initial time of dispatch. Call company members who are also EMS providers provided patient care until a mutual aid ambulance arrived.
- October: 23-NG0489 Car 1, Ambulance 1, and other members responded to the Lewiston shootings. Car 1 operated as part of the Tactical Command Staff at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at the Walmart Distribution Center. A1 staged at CMMC and then at the Colisee. Other paramedic members helped staff other mutual aid ambulances. In total, our department had a response of 12 members: 1 to the scene, 7 to staging, and 4 covering our station. Out of this, 5 paramedics responded from New Gloucester Fire Rescue. While this can be an uncomfortable topic to discuss, the fact that we had training in tactical care, as well as ballistic vests, meant our members were prepared to respond in any capacity.
- November: 23-NG0511 Crews responded to a structure fire on Shaker Road. The garage was fully involved on FD arrival with an immediate exposure to the house. First due crews rapidly deployed two 1 ¾” hand lines, saving the house from the burning garage and extinguishing the fire. This was possible by Engine 3 going enroute within 1 minute of dispatch and arriving on scene 7 minutes after the initial dispatch. Good first due tactics allowed a family to stay in their home that night.
- November: 23-NG0512 A1 and U1 responded to assist Gray mutual aid to I-95 NB for a motor vehicle accident with ejection.
- November: 23-NG0524 A1 handled a multi-systems trauma patient from a motorcycle accident on Intervale Road. Patient care was transferred to a trauma center 37 minutes after the initial dispatch.
- December: 23-NG0548, companies responded to an explosion on Intervale Road. Unfortunately, there was a civilian fatality prior to our arrival. We had a turnout of 14 members for this call. The investigation was completed by the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office.
- December: 23-NG0561, A1 responded mutual aid to Gray for a motor vehicle accident, transporting a trauma patient to CMMC. Time of dispatch to time at the hospital was 51 total minutes.
- December: 23-NG0573, New Gloucester crews responded to a wilderness rescue on Gloucester Hill Road. 13 members showed up, finding the patient and providing care quickly. Due to the nature of the call, Life Flight responded and landed at the scene. Due to our UTV being permanently out of service, mutual aid was requested from Gray and North Yarmouth. They arrived on scene 26 and 31 minutes after the initial tone, providing the equipment needed for a removal. The patient was ultimately transported by our ambulance after consultation between ALS (Advanced Life Support) providers on scene. While this was a successful rescue, the delay due to our UTV being out of service was significant.
- December: On December 18th, New Gloucester Fire Rescue handled 38 calls for service during the storm. The busiest time was from 10am to 2pm, when companies handled 29 calls in a 4-hour period. 13 different members responded to at least 1 call during the storm, with 2 members working as dispatchers and operating within the ICS system at the station. This was a collaborative effort that shows how versatile our organization is.

Training
Training was once again a large part of our operation in 2023. We offered 106 classes totaling 212 hours. Throughout these offerings, our members completed 1222.5 man hours of training. Members were able advantage of a variety of training opportunities with mutual aid partners and local stakeholders.
Once again, we had joint live-fire training with Gray Fire Rescue. We also were able to train with Gray multiple times on ice-water rescue, ventilation, forcible entry, search and rescue, and propane fires. We hosted Southern Maine Community College’s Fire Science program for propane fires, continuing our support and partnership with their fire science students. We also hosted a large-scale water supply training attended by Gray, North Yarmouth, Pownal, Durham, and Raymond. This two-session class was able to test our ability to deliver water in a rural setting. Training together increases interoperability and leads to better outcomes on emergency calls.
To also supplement our training ability, we were able to purchase a forcible entry prop. The majority of this was purchased through association funds. This simulates gaining access to doors in an emergency. The prop has given members the ability to hone their craft through repetition and scenario-based training on forcible entry.
In 2024, we look forward to continuing training with our mutual aid partners. We also look forward to expanding our training with special operations, to improve our all-hazards response to emergencies.

Fire Prevention
Captain Chris Gill has continued improving our fire prevention programs. He has continued to have a large presence in both Memorial and Dunn Schools, as well as local daycares. Our members take pride in being part of a community department. Through Captain Gill’s leadership, we participated in the Community Fair, Trunk or Treat, the Lower Village Trick or Treating, and many other community events. We also hosted our annual open house and chicken barbecue, which was once again well attended.
One of the other major highlights has been our partnership with the local volunteer group BLING (Building Livability in New Gloucester). Chief Bouchard and Captain Gill have worked with BLING and the Red Cross to install 82 smoke detectors in 33 homes. This program demonstrated its effectiveness when we responded for a CO alarm. The homeowner was alerted to the dangerous condition through one of those 82 detectors. While we often have to assume fire prevention programs are working, seeing first-hand the success of our community’s collaborative efforts drives home the message of safety and prevention we strive to share.
We look forward to serving our community with our expanded fire prevention program, reaching those of all demographics. Additionally, we will begin developing pre-incident plans in our records management software. This will allow members to access information about specific buildings while on scene.

Conclusion
In conclusion, 2023 was a year of growth for our department. We had many members have personal accomplishments and growth that in turn contribute to our community as a whole. We had many members take the next step with their skill set, contributing to the betterment of the department.
If there is one moment that sums up what New Gloucester Fire Rescue is about, it would be from the storm this past December. We had 11 additional members come in to supplement the duty crew as we were inundated with calls. When there was a lull in the action and the command staff was catching up on incident documentation, the aroma of coffee and the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen caught my attention. Seeing the joking, the laughing, and the love of the job so often talked about alive in well at our firehouse kitchen table was refreshing. While at a moment’s notice they could all be on the rig and out the door, this moment was about love for one another, love for the job, and love for our community. To part with a quote from the movie Backdraft, “The funny thing about firemen…. Night and day they are always firemen.”
Thank you to our community members who continually support us. As always, we are always looking for new members to apply. Please reach out and inquire about the variety of opportunities to help serve our community. We look forward to continuing to provide excellent service for our community and visitors in 2024.
