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Are you interested in joining WVFD?

Westford Fire is always seeking applications for volunteer members. We are currently recruiting for three roles – Firefighter, Fire Police, and Auxiliary Support. 

Prerequisites

To be qualified to volunteer in all three positions applicants must be 16 years of age. Applicants under 18 must have parent permission. Applicants must have a great attitude and a willingness to learn. 

Application process – 

  1. Fill out an application and submit it:
    • Electronically to WestfordFire@gmail.com,
    • Dropped off at the Westford Town office during normal business hours, or
    • Delivered in person to the Fire Station (35 Cambridge Road) during our weekly training session, Monday evening from 19:00 to 20:30 (7pm-8:30pm). 
  2. A department officer will contact you about your application after it has been received. You will then be invited to a weekly training to meet the members of the Fire Dept and for a short interview so we may learn your interests and get to know you. At the following monthly business meeting the standing members of will vote on acceptance of your application as a probationary member. 
  3. If your application was voted in you are now a probationary member. The probation period is approximately 6 months long, depending on attendance and successful completion of in-house training. Probationary members are able to respond to emergency calls but only with other standing members. You will be issued personal protective equipment. After your probation period you should be qualified to drive and operate fire apparatus, identify and use tools off the trucks, and have the skills set to save lives and protect property. 
  4. After your probation period is completed you are now a full standing member. 

Required Training

Along with the department’s in-house training, members are required to become certified in CPR/AED, ICS 100 (Introduction to the Incident Command System), and ICS 700 (Introduction to the National Incident Management System) within one year of joining the department.

  • CPR/AED will enable you to save lives at scenes or even during normal day-to-day activities and is renewed annually through the department.
  • ICS-100 and ICS-700 are crucial for maintaining order and efficiency at the fire scene by standardizing how we communicate.  These are provided by FEMA online at no cost.

Other recommended (but not required) training includes:

  • A Rookie training class.  These classes are typically over a weekend and will give you a basic skill set to enable you to effectively engage at a scene
  • A variety of specialized weekend classes (such as basic auto extraction, relay pumping, and introduction to pumps) are offered by local organizations throughout the year. Rookie classes are often part of these offerings
  • The Chittenden County Basic Firefighting Course or the Vermont Fire Academy Firefighter 1 course. If you’re looking for self-improvement tither of these classes will provide an intermediate skill set, making make you an greater asset at the scene.

All response-related training is paid for by the department.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Standard safety gear and firefighter tools are provided to members by the department. Standard PPE includes: 

  1. Helmet
  2. Coat
  3. Gloves 
  4. Pants
  5. Boots
  6. Nomex Hood
  7. Traffic Safety Vest
  8. Flashlight
  9. SCBA Mask (upon Self Contained Breathing Apparatus certification)

Standard PPE is paid for by the department. This gear should be kept at the fire station and maintained so it is ready be donned quickly in response to a call.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know when there’s a call?

When the Fire Department gets a call there are a couple ways we are notified. When the Essex Police Department calls us out they send out what is called tones. These tones will alert our pagers we carry on our belts. The dispatcher will then audibly say where to respond and what for along with other information we may need to know about. The pager is the primary way to be alerted for a fire call. The second way for us to be notified is by an alerting app we have on our smartphones. This app will alert the members who use this technology as soon as the dispatcher will activate it. As soon as they activate it we can look into the incident details on our smartphones to see where the incident is and what for.

Do I have to respond to every call?

Members are expected to make a reasonable effort to respond.  However, as volunteers they are not expected to respond to calls when they are not available.  If you are available and within responding distance you should head to the station, but you aren’t required to leave family events or disregard prior commitments. 

What else does the Fire Department do?

Every year the fire department fills the ice rink in the Westford Common. We pump water from the river to a truck at the rink, then flood the rink so it’s thick enough to skate on. The Fire Department also provides fire prevention day at the Westford Elementary School to teach kids the importance of being safe with fire and what to do if the smoke alarms go off. On Memorial Day you will see a Westford fire truck in the Essex Junction parade and on the Fourth of July the fire department puts all the trucks in the Westford parade held at the Westford Common. Every spring WVFD has a banquet for the members and their families. This is also when the Westford Firefighter of the Year award is presented to the individual.