Gorham’s Fire and Rescue Department needs beefing up immediately, a study committee concluded Monday.

As volunteer numbers sag, the Fire and EMS Study Committee is advocating augmenting a small Fire and Rescue Department corps by hiring a full-time fire inspector, a deputy chief for the town’s rescue service, two additional, full-time firefighters/emergency medical technicians; and expanding the student firefighter live-in program. If implemented, several recommendations would increase costs to the town by close to $250,000 a year. The town currently budgets $1.2 million for the fire and resuce department.

“I think it will make a huge difference where the department is going,” Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said about the committee’s recommendations.

Appointed by the town council, the committee, which has met 10 times beginning in May, is expected to present its findings to the town council at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the municipal center, 75 South St. Steve Willis, chairman of the study committee, will report details to the council.

The Fire and Rescue Department now has 10 full-time employees, including Lefebvre and Deputy Chief Ken Fickett, in addition to two secretaries. Three firefighters were hired earlier this year. The town’s call company roster of 85 volunteers has dwindled from double that number 20 years ago.

The town has grown in population from 11,856 in 1990 to an estimated 15,402 in 2006, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The department also provides service to the University of Southern Maine campus in Gorham.

“As the town continues to grow, calls for service continue to grow,” said Lefebvre Tuesday, adding that his department now averages about eight calls for service daily. “It takes more people to meet the demand.”

Norm Justice, chairman of the town council, said it earmarked $200,000 in the budget last spring in case it decided to implement recommendations by the study committee.

“I expect some action pretty quick,” Justice said, although he doubted action as early as next week. If this council doesn’t act Tuesday, the recommendations will likely come before a different group of councilors. Voters will determine who fills three expiring council terms in the municipal election on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

The study committee recommended a full-time fire inspector position within three years. The move would increase existing hours for the part-time job from 28 to 40 each week. The estimated cost increase would be $33,000 a year.

Under the recommendations, an additional deputy fire chief would be hired within five years to administer the emergency medical services. The department now has one full-time deputy chief and two part-time deputies. The salary of a full-time deputy, depending on experience, would be about $59,000. With benefits, the position would total $89,000, said Town Manager David Cole.

Two additional firefighters, who would also be qualified as emergency medical technicians, would provide three full-time employees on duty 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., hours when call firefighters, who work, would likely be unavailable. The increase of two additional people would cost about $107,000.

The committee also recommended expanding the current college student-firefighter live-in program to summer months on a trial basis. Now, while attending college, students receive free board in fire stations in exchange for being on duty nights.

Lefebvre said Gorham has 14 such students, but they are typically gone from mid-May to September, when school is not in session. Lefebvre proposed offering a bonus of $1,500, in addition to pay for training and responding to calls, to students willing to stay over summer months.

“It’s a huge bang for the buck,” Lefebvre said.

Using Lefebvre’s suggested bonus, Cole figured the program would cost about $25,000 for 14 weeks, Cole called it a “decent potential” to augment the staff at a low cost.

Even if the council approved the committee’s recommendations, the town would continue to depend on its cast of call firefighters.

“The call company is going to be the life blood of the department for a long time,” Lefebvre said.

Gorham has six fire stations, sharing ones with Windham, Scarborough and Standish. The committee recommended that the fire department continue to work aggressively with neighboring communities to develop mutual aid programs. It also recommended charging fees for non-emergency services.

The department would charge $100 plus costs for repeat inspections after the first two, which would be free. Examples would include inspections for code violations or for contractors.

The committee had several other recommendations, including incentives to encourage installation of fire sprinklers in buildings, continued efforts for grants and to establish another study committee in five years.

Members of the committee included Chuck Crockett, Janice Labrecque, Harold Parks, Lyle Merrifield and Tom Talbot, all residents; Brenda Caldwell, council representative; and Steve Rines and Mike Kucsma, both of the fire department; and Willis.

Caldwell praised the work of the committee, which poured over data throughout the summer. The committee didn’t “rubber stamp” proposals by town staff, Caldwell said.