The locker room in the Byram Volunteer Fire Department in Greenwich.

Our state has a strong tradition of volunteer firefighters. The majority of the 26,000 firefighters in Connecticut are volunteers — roughly 83 percent. Greenwich is a combination fire department — a department with both career and volunteers. We have about 106 career and 117 volunteer firefighters based out of seven fire stations in Greenwich.

Who are our volunteer firefighters? They are our neighbors, brothers and sisters, and children who have committed to serving their communities. Most have full-time jobs and offer up their evenings and weekends to serve. They are driven by a commitment to give back to their town with the fringe benefit of developing bonds and friendships with their fellow firefighters. Of the 4,000 calls our firefighters get a year, a reasonable number are handled by the volunteers.

Most of our volunteer firefighters have been trained at the same fire academy as our career firefighters. There may be an impression that the volunteers have a different type of training. More than 80 percent of our volunteers are “White Tags,” the terminology used by the department to classify volunteers who received the lengthy training at the academy to respond to and fight fires. Our volunteer firefighters have put in the time to train and are ready to serve.

In Connecticut, many towns have only volunteer forces (i.e., Darien), while others have only career (i.e., Norwalk). Greenwich is blessed to have a combination fire department. Our combination force offers many benefits. Our career firefighters are highly trained and offer reliability and stability. While less than 10 percent of our career firefighters are from Greenwich, our volunteers are primarily from our town, usually serving in the station they live closest to. Our career forces dependability and the spirit and commitment or our local volunteer force are unmatched. Our combination department is invaluable, with 200-plus men and women committed to serving and risking their lives to protect ours.

These past few months, as a Board of Estimate and Taxation member, I’ve had the honor to have conversations with our newest fire chief — Joseph McHugh, who took the helm in 2020. Chief McHugh makes a great effort to ensure that the volunteers and the career firefighters work together to keep us safe. Our volunteer firefighters need to be provided with the appropriate resources and opportunities. In the recent past, we have heard some concerns from the volunteers about a new SOP and certain resource constraints. My discussions with Chief McHugh assure me he is supportive and committed to the volunteer program in every way — budget, resources, and scheduling. For that, I am thankful to our chief.

As a BET member, I commit to my community to ensure we get the best services in the most fiscally prudent manner. Selfishly, highly trained volunteers are a dream for our department (and our pocketbooks!). While the operational cost of a volunteer fire department is nominal, their service to our community is invaluable. When the BET meets Tuesday to finalize the budgets of all our departments, I intend to support our volunteer force fully. The mission of our department is to preserve life and property, and I am grateful for all the men and women that suit up to protect us.

Nisha Arora is a member of the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation.