ST. LAWRENCE, N.L. — Fire Chief Daryl Doyle said the approval of four new members for the St. Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department will be a big help.
“The way that the workforce is now, we have a few guys that are on turn-around; the extra bodies will lighten the load for training and for fire calls,” he said.
Doyle said at any given time the fire department may have members who are unable to respond, however, he doesn’t feel that puts the town or its residents at any additional risk.
“We got a couple guys gone, probably three at the most at a time and the Town of St. Lawrence and the Town of Lawn do have a mutual agreement,” he explained. “We’ll respond to theirs, they’ll respond and help us.”
During a recent meeting of the St. Lawrence town council, approval was given for Kevin Pittman, Corey Walsh, Scott Norman and Shane Slaney to join the department. Council also approved increasing the number of members to 24.
Presently, a full complement of members for the department is 22, but with two members retiring and the recent death of another, the number of firefighters now sits at 19. Firefighter Rudy Kelly passed away on April 24.
St. Lawrence Mayor Paul Pike serves as the town’s liaison with the department along with Coun. Rosalie Dupre.
“What I would recommend for now is to take on the four that we have and leave Rudy’s (position) vacant for now,” said Pike.
