PLAINVILLE, Mass. — Firefighters asked town voters to exempt the fire department from an age restriction on new hires that was adopted last June.
The Sun Chronicle reported that the restriction prohibits the hiring of people over age 32 for positions such as police officers and firefighters.
Tom Impey, head of the local firefighters’ union, said that more than 25 percent of Plainville, Mass. firefighters and 50 percent of the department officers were over 32 when they were hired before the restriction was adopted.
He said the prior system has worked well for the fire department and the age restriction was not needed.
“We want to go back to the position we had before,” he said.
Putting in an age restriction limits the pool of candidates for a position and makes it harder to attract the best person for the job, he said.
The exemption would allow the fire department to accept job applicants from anyone between the ages of 19 and 65.