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Cheshire fire chief warns volunteer ranks are shrinking; town may need paid staff sooner than expected
Summary
Fire leadership told the council volunteer numbers have fallen sharply and call complexity is rising; officials discussed recruitment, pay‑per‑call experiments and the long‑term cost of moving to a full career department as part of budget planning.
Cheshire’s fire leadership told councilors the department is facing a long‑term decline in volunteers and that rising call volume and complexity may force decisions about paid staffing sooner than anticipated.
"Volunteering is not a thing anymore," Fire Chief Ashish Kasner said, noting the department currently fields about six full‑time staff, three part‑time staff and approximately 40 volunteers — down from more than 100 in earlier decades. He said the town handled roughly 1,100 calls last year and that the…
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