Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department News

OBIFD Seeks Community Help For Annual Yard Sale and Auction

June 19, 2017

The Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department is looking for community help to support its annual August auction and yard sale.

The department is seeking donations of items to sell, along with volunteers to help put on the largest community event held on Orr’s and Bailey Islands each summer.

The 24^th annual auction and sale will be held August 12 and 13 at the fire station on Orr's Island.

Volunteers are needed to help set up in the week leading up to the sale, as well as during the yard sale on Saturday and Sunday and the auction on Sunday.

All volunteers will receive a free T-shirt, food, drinks, and lots of fun and camaraderie working with a diverse crew of fire department and community members.

Interested volunteers can call the fire department at 207-833-5405 or email auction@obifd.org.

OBIFD is also seeking donations of wooden furniture, antiques, artwork, nautical items, historical artifacts, household items, tools, unique kitsch, and more to offer at the sale.

Items may be dropped off at the fire station at 1600 Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through August 5. Donors can also call 833-5405 to arrange for free pickup of larger pieces or multiple items.

The fire department asks that no donations be left unattended at the station under any circumstances.

Over the years, the department has found that many items are difficult to sell or even give away and asks people not to donate particle board furniture, tube TVs, microwave ovens, vacuums, dehumidifiers, electric stovetops, computer equipment, ski gear, golf clubs, couches or other stuffed furniture, mattresses and box springs, exercise equipment, aquariums, used building materials, used bath fixtures, plug-in appliances, lighting fixtures, metal bed frames or baby equipment. Books are also not accepted, but can be donated to the Orr's Island Library for its August sale.

The yard sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, and again Sunday morning on the grounds of the fire station and inside the adjacent old Orr's Island Schoolhouse on Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24.

The live auction of some of the finer and fun items will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, with preview starting at 9 a.m. A wide variety of antique and fine furniture, historical artifacts, artwork and many other items will be up for bid as usual, with lots of interesting surprises along the way.

A silent auction of a variety of goods, services and experiences donated by area businesses will be open on both days. Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be offered for sale.

All proceeds from the event help fund the nonprofit volunteer department, which provides fire and rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island east of the Mountain Road bridge and south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24.

For more information, please visit www.obifd.org, facebook/obifdmaine or call 833-5405.

Harpswell Gets Six New Firefighter Graduates

June 15, 2017

Six Harpswell volunteers recently graduated from firefighter training programs, giving the town it’s biggest public safety boost in years.

Three men each from the Orr’s and Bailey Islands and Cundy’s Harbor fire departments successfully finished months of training required to become certified interior attack firefighters, allowing them to enter burning buildings in teams to rescue anyone trapped inside and put out structure fires.

Half of the volunteers graduated from the Maine State Fire Academy Firefighter I & II Class, while the other three completed the same program offered by the Tri-County Training Association

Harpswell’s newest firefighters, from left, Sven Pulsifer, Sean Ruel, Jon Petkers, Peter Vincent, Zachary Stoler and, insert, David Allison.

"The addition of these six qualified firefighters to the rosters of the Orr's and Bailey Islands and Cundy's Harbor Fire Departments represent the largest class of firefighters the departments have graduated in memory,” said Benjamin A. Wallace Jr., who serves as chief of both departments.

The new graduates are:

David Allison, 52, of Orr’s Island. The Santa Barbara, Calif., native, has lived in Harpswell for about four years and joined OBIFD last year.

Jon Petkers, 42, of Orr’s Island, an outpatient physical therapist for Mid Coast Hospital. A Lewiston native, he has lived in town for about a year and half with his wife, Stephanie, who is a new member of the OBIFD Board of Directors.

Sven Pulsifer, 28, of Cundy’s Harbor, a self-employed climbing arborist. A Cundy’s Harbor native and son of a veteran CHFD member, the UMaine graduate is married to Mellissa Pulsifer, a certified professional midwife.

Sean Ruel, 29, of Bethel Point, an arborist who recently started his own company, Thrive Tree Care. A resident for two years, he joined CHFD last year.

Zachary Stoler, 22, of Orr’s Island, a fire alarm electrician. Born in Massachusetts, he joined OBIFD early last year, soon after moving to town from Florida.

Peter Vincent, 60, of Cundy’s Harbor. The retired Bolton, Mass., native moved to town two years ago with his wife Susan, daughter Morgan, a junior at the University of New Hampshire, and their two dogs.

Each of the new firefighters said they came to the fire departments in different ways – one saw a road sign and decided to volunteer, one followed in the footsteps of his father, a couple of others were inspired by friends who were department members – but all said they decided to answer the call to help contribute to their community.

“I made this decision based on the need in our community and my opportunity to give back to a place I am very much in love with,” said Allison, who was inspired to join by his friend, OBIFD Assistant Chief Phil Taylor.

“I hopefully can make a difference in somebody's life,” Allison said.

“The best part of being on the CHFD is helping out my friends who have been volunteers for decades and deserve every bit of assistance they get. Also, there's a sense of legacy that comes with volunteering,” added Pulsifer, whose father also served in the department.

“Volunteering means staying fit and active, occasionally getting out of your comfort zone to help neighbors in need, and meeting new folks while becoming an active team member,” Pulsifer said. “There is also the financial reality of Harpswell's three non-profit departments. Do you want a higher mill rate? Many hands keep lower taxes.”

There’s also personal satisfaction in the accomplishment of becoming a firefighter.

“ I can now safely and legally go into a burning building with a team to attack a fire, which is awesome,” Pulsifer said.

Wallace, the long-time Cundy's Harbor chief who took on the same role at OBIFD this year, said the new firefighters give the town’s emergency services a needed boost, but staffing at those two departments and Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue remains critically low and new volunteers are still urgently needed.

“We are excited about their future serving the community,” Wallace said, “but as our most experienced personnel approach retirement age we are also in need of many new volunteers to train to become firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians."

Volunteers can serve in a variety of capacities. The biggest commitment and most extensive training is needed to become a trained Emergency Medical Technician or a structural firefighter. But there are many less-demanding roles which no not require as much training, such as exterior firefighters, ambulance and fire truck drivers, pump operators and ground support personnel, in addition to people to help keep the trucks and other equipment operational, clean the stations, stock supplies, keep up with paper work and volunteer for a variety of public events.

“This is a great way to give back to the community,” said Vincent, one of the new firefighters. “You get to meet and work with amazing and inspiring people.”

The Cundy's Harbor Volunteer Fire Department serves all of Great Island from the Brunswick line to Stevens Corner Road on Route 24. OBIFD serves Orr's, Bailey and part of Great Island south of Stevens Corner road and east of the Ewing Narrows bridge on Mountain Road. Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue serves all areas off of Route 123, including Mountain Road west of the Ewing Narrows bridge.

More information about the three departments, including how to join as a volunteer, is available at www.harpswellfireandrescue.org, or by leaving a message for Wallace at 207-844-8105.

Fire Department Seeks Donations for Annual Auction and Yard Sale

June 2, 2017

The Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department is looking for donations for its annual auction and yard sale to be held August 12 and 13 at the fire station on Orr's Island.

Items may be dropped off at the fire station at 1600 Harpswell Islands Road, Route 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays during June and July. Donors can also call 833-5405 to arrange for free pickup of larger pieces or multiple items.

The fire department asks that no donations be left unattended at the station under any circumstances.

Books are also not accepted, but can be donated to the Orr's Island Library for its August sale.

Items accepted for donation will be up for sale at either the yard sale held throughout the weekend or at the live auction on Sunday, August 14.

A silent auction of a variety of goods, services and experiences donated by area businesses will be open on both days. Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be offered for sale.

All proceeds from the event help fund the nonprofit volunteer department, which provides fire and rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island east of the Mountain Road bridge and south of Stevens Corner Road on Route 24.

For more information, please visit www.obifd.org or call 833-5405.