By Derrick Perkins
The Union Leader
SALEM, N.H. — If background checks and psychological and medical exams go well, Fire Chief Kevin Breen will welcome two new faces to his department at the start of the new year.
The two individuals — whose names will be withheld until hiring is complete — were extended a conditional job offer on Friday, Breen said. They will fill two of three positions created earlier this year by retiring firefighters. One of those positions was filled last month.
In all, 166 people applied, Breen said. That number was pared down by department staff to 48, who were then questioned by a hiring panel over a six-day period. The 10 deemed most qualified were then interviewed by Breen.
Filling open positions comes as the town steps back from a hiring freeze implemented earlier this year after cuts in state aid put a hole in Salem’s budget. Selectman Everett McBride said the board is reviewing existing openings on a case-by-case basis.
“They were replacements,” he said of the fire department’s new hires. “In other words, they were guys who had left employment with the town and we just were replacing them.”
Selectmen also approved the Department of Public Works hiring two employees several weeks ago, McBride said.
Keeping positions open at the fire department would cost the town more money in the long run, Breen said. In 2007 and 2008 Salem accepted two Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants that will garner $835,700 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to partially fund eight firefighting positions over the next several years.
To collect, the department must maintain staffing at 15 firefighters per shift, Breen said. The chief has been drawing on overtime to meet the federal requirements, but unless new firefighters were hired the grant would have been rescinded, he said.
“They want to see people hired and that you are maintaining your required personnel,” Breen said. “They want to ensure you’re still running that, because the whole point is staffing for adequate fire protection. We were awarded these because we reported that Salem is understaffed for the size of the community, the number of calls and increasing response times. We’re just a very busy department.”
Even if the three positions are filled by Jan. 1, the department roster lists fewer firefighters than it did 20 years ago, said Breen.
In 1989, there were 16 firefighters per shift, since then the number of service calls has jumped from 2,800 to 4,300 per year, he said.
Keeping staff at least where it has been in recent years played into the board’s decision to fill vacancies, McBride said.
“It’s important. We went to the 15-man shift so we could run four ambulances full time,” he said. “It’s important we have that ambulance available.”
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