Saucier
New Whiteland’s fire chief left the job this month, saying he wanted to devote more time to his family and other jobs.
Dale Saucier had been chief of the New Whiteland Fire Department for nearly five years. The New Whiteland department is primarily volunteer, and his job as chief was part-time, while he also worked full-time elsewhere.
The weighing responsibilities of managing the department, along with his job as a career firefighter at the White River Township Fire Department, were the main reasons he decided to leave the post, he said. He wanted to free up more time to spend with his family and explore other opportunities.
Saucier took a new job at 1-800-BOARD-UP, an organization that provides help and services to victims of home or structure fires.
“My job as a career firefighter, that has to be my primary focus, next to family,” he said. “This other job also allows me to help people that have experienced those tragic events, and I’m also providing training through the company to other fire departments to help hone their skills.”
As chief at New Whiteland, Saucier said he found himself having to come up with creative ways to solve staffing issues in the department. The fire department is largely volunteer, and finding help can be a struggle, he said.
“It just put a lot of pressure to protect the citizens,” Saucier said. “I just felt like that I couldn’t come up with a good creative solution, and it was time for somebody else who maybe has better ideas.”
The New Whiteland Fire Department currently has 19 firefighters, when it has the capacity to have 25, Saucier said. Two personnel are paid part-time each day to work eight-hour shifts during the day, and there are overnight and home response volunteers for calls to fill in the gaps.
Relying on help from neighboring fire stations is needed to help with coverage of the community, Saucier said. New Whiteland most often works with the Whiteland Fire Department to respond to emergencies, and vice-versa. That is not unusual, as all departments throughout the county help each other out often, no questions asked, he said.
“You have to rely on others, other departments. You just want to provide the best for your citizens,” Saucier said.
Trouble finding volunteer firefighters is not unique to just New Whiteland, as volunteer fire departments across the county and nation continue to struggle to find help.
“It’s just so different now, with gas prices on the rise, and the requirements set forth for certifications, recertifications, OSHA requirements and NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) requirements. It puts a lot on somebody who’s a volunteer,” Saucier said.
Despite issues with finding help, it is unlikely an official merger between New Whiteland and Whiteland fire departments will happen, Saucier said, even with his departure. The two departments already have an understood agreement to work with each other often, but nothing has ever been formally put onto paper.
“I don’t think anything’s been formal, as in sitting down and discussing helping each other out … I mean, we were doing it with responses and helping each other already,” Saucier said.
John Perrin, president of the New Whiteland Town Council, also said a merger has not been considered. He echoed that the New Whiteland Fire Department already has mutual aid with Whiteland and other departments.
“To the best of my knowledge, there’s nothing that’s not being covered,” Perrin said. “That’s one of the great things about our area and our county. Everybody helps everybody no matter what.”
The New Whiteland Council is tasked with hiring a new fire chief in the coming weeks. For now, Assistant Chief Dave Curin is serving in the interim.
Perrin recognizes the fire department and leadership is spread thin, and he plans to meet with Curin to assess his feelings about what is needed in a new chief.
“It’s a struggle to find anybody to work anywhere right now. And when you’re asking people to do it, basically, for free, it is difficult,” Perrin said.
