MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Fire Department will be holding a recruitment open house on Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., at 5 Seymour Street in Middlebury. The fire department is joining Operation Mayday!, the first statewide effort to recruit new members to the fire service.

The public is welcome to stop by the station to learn about the fire department and its need for interior firefighters. In addition to giving station tours and talking about the benefits of being a volunteer firefighter, firefighters will be demonstrating the flow paths of fire in a structure and walking through turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatus. Chief David Shaw stressed the event “is a low pressure, no obligation opportunity for interested residents to see if joining the fire department is something to explore.”

The Middlebury Fire Department responds to an average of 250 calls for service each year — day and night. Although the department currently has 40 members on its roster, each call averages 8-10 responding members. Chief Shaw added, “The fire department has a critical need for new members who have a strong commitment to the community and the interest and time to become interior firefighters.

Prospective members often worry about the time commitment of joining the volunteer fire service. To help with that concern, trainings are scheduled a year in advance so that members can plan for them. The calls, of course, come at any time of the day or night, and that’s where the MFD looks to members’ deep commitment to the community to answer those calls. Because, if they don’t answer them, who will?”

Middlebury residents who are interested in learning more about the fire department and who are unable to attend the open house are encouraged to contact Captain LeRoy Graham by email at [email protected] or visit the department website www.middleburyfiredept.org.

According to the Vermont Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire Safety, 11 other area fire departments will also hold open houses on Saturday from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. They include:

• Addison Volunteer Fire Dept., 44 Route 17W.

• Brandon Fire Dept., 61 Franklin St.

• Ferrisburgh Volunteer Fire Dept., 3909 Route 7 

• Lincoln Volunteer Fire Co., 34 Gove Hill Road

• New Haven Volunteer Fire Dept., 1839 Main St.

• Orwell Volunteer Fire Dept., 604 Main St. 

• Salisbury Volunteer Fire Dept., 2399 Route 7.

• Shoreham Fire Dept., 53 Firehouse Road.

• Starksboro Volunteer Fire Dept., 3902 Route 116.

• Vergennes Fire Dept., 50 Green St.

• Weybridge Volunteer Fire Dept., 460 Quaker Village Road.