The Cape Elizabeth Fire-Rescue Department protects the lives and property of the townspeople and visitors of the Town of Cape Elizabeth. The department employs a full-time Fire Chief, as well as four per-diem responders who are on-duty at Town Center Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On-duty staffing is supplemented by paid-on-call personnel who respond from home. The four per-diem responders staff an ambulance and an engine company, with the engine company able to staff another ambulance as needed. All other responders are paid an hourly rate for each emergency call they answer. These individuals carry radio-based pagers, which are activated by our regional dispatch center when there is an emergency. These responders come from whatever activities they might be doing at the time, whether it is working, sleeping, having dinner with family, and/or working around the house. The department depends on a large number of trained and certified emergency workers to ensure a prompt and efficient response to a wide range of incidents.

Each member is required to obtain the same level of training as their “career” counterparts in other full-time departments. For example, Firefighters complete Firefighter I & II training, while Emergency Medical Responders are licensed to practice by the State (Maine EMS). Those aspiring to become line-officers must have NIMS and Officer I & II to be promoted.