Gorham and Scarborough have had a mutual aid agreement at the North Scarborough Fire Station on Saco Street for 30 years. Through mutual aid, communities share resources when responding to fires or emergencies so as not to duplicate services. The town of Gorham also has mutual aid agreements with the towns of Standish and Windham.

There has been some recent concern that Gorham is not putting the necessary resources into its agreement with Scarborough, and coverage and relationships between the towns is not what it should be. In a meeting with Gorham Fire Chief Bob Lefebvre and Scarborough Fire Chief Mike Thurlow, however, they both stated that there is no crisis in coverage at the North Scarborough Station and that the relationship between the two towns is as solid now as it was when their predecessors started it 30 years ago.

Thurlow stated, “We have the utmost respect for each other.” Lefebvre added, “If I called Scarborough for assistance I’d have every piece of equipment I needed.”

They also said what has kept this longstanding relationship going is compromise. Both departments compromise and do what is best for the communities and the staff.

The problem the two fire chiefs are facing, however, involves staffing at the North Scarborough Station in particular. In the 70’s and 80’s, the two departments had waiting lists of people willing to be on call as firefighters. Gorham had 230 caller members and Scarborough had 330.

Over time, society has changed and the number of calls has increased, making it more difficult for those “on call” to leave their home or business to assist. To make sure there was someone available to get a truck out to respond to a fire, Thurlow hired a per diem firefighter at the station nine years ago. Four years later, Gorham added a per diem staffer to the station. Both of these staff members covered the daytime hours at the station.

Because North Scarborough is the second busiest station based on number of calls, Thurlow added a per diem firefighter to the night shift as well. Lefebvre has added this position into his budget for the past several years, but it has been cut during the budget process. Last year, two rescue personnel positions were given priority.

Both chiefs stated that their respective town managers are aware of the situation and are working to ease the situation, but they made it clear that the citizens are well served by this mutual aid agreement.