News

A special group: Gray's First Responders
Guest Column by Rep. Mark Bryant

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the 125th anniversary celebration for the Gray Fire-Rescue Company. It was truly an honor to be among these men and women who have given so much to our community over the years.

Firefighters and first responders are a very special group of people to me. I grew up across the street from the Canton Fire Station, and my father was the volunteer Fire Chief. No matter how cold it was, or how tired he was from a long day at the mill, he always went out on a call. He said that it was because some other family always needed protecting, and that's what neighbors did.

This glimpse into the lives of volunteer firefighters has always made me appreciate all the work that goes on behind the scenes that ensures that first responders will always be there when needed. There's so much more to keeping a fire and rescue company going, and Saturday's celebration shed some significant light on how volunteers have kept our community safe for more than a century.

Gray's fire and rescue department is currently comprised of a small professional staff supplemented by volunteers. It's only been within the last decade that full-time staff were hired, and that happened in response to the growth of our area and the need for round-the-clock coverage. Before that time, as well as today, volunteers have been the life-blood of Gray's fire and rescue operations.

In the early 1880s, a group of local men started a bucket brigade, with the help of donations from local small businesses, who donated buckets and allowed fire company horses and equipment to be housed at Hancock Stables. For 40 years, this small group of individuals, operating on a budget of $100 per year from the town, kept Gray safe.

The Gray Fire Department, as it became known, encountered its first major recorded challenge in late December 1921. A massive fire devastated Gray, but the volunteers were able to save the heart of Gray village and preserve an important part of our area's heritage. The silver lining to this fire was a better understanding of the equipment and resources needed to protect the town, and better equipment, including new fire trucks, were purchased in time.

Major forest fires in the late 1940s caused Gray to enter into a formal mutual aid agreement with the City of Auburn and surrounding towns of Raymond, Durham, Pownal, New Gloucester, and Cumberland. By the 1950s, a phone system was set up with the assistance of volunteer homes with "red phones" to help other volunteers respond promptly to calls for help.

With the growth of the area, the Gray Fire Department needed the assistance of Rescue services, and in 1972, Gray purchased Maine's first modular ambulance. The Fire and Rescue companies merged in 1993, and professional staff members were added to supplement the work of Gray's dedicated Fire and Rescue volunteers, who have lived the motto "to serve and protect life and prosperity at the Crossroads of Maine."

The future of Gray's Fire and Rescue Company will undoubtedly mean greater professionalization, including hiring more staff. But volunteers will continue to play a significant role, because people in Gray know what my own father said was true-helping one another is what neighbors do.

If I can provide any information, or be of assistance to you on any state matter, please feel free to call me at home at 892-6591, or e-mail me at RepMarkBryant@yahoo.com.

Rep. Mark Bryant represents Part of Windham and Part of Gray