Langerman

The former EMS coordinator in Saco has been hired for the Westbrook Fire Department’s new deputy chief position, which will focus on EMS and training.

Brian Langerman, a 19-year veteran of the Saco department, will be paid $90,000 in the new role, which interim Chief Steve Sloan said is needed because of the growing number of daily fire department training sessions as the department looks into ways to address a spiraling number of EMS calls.

Training has been the chief’s responsibility, but combined with other responsibilities, such as budgeting, organization and internal affairs, it is too much for one person to successfully handle, Sloan said. Former Chief Andrew Turcotte cited the amount of work required of the chief as a reason for his resignation late last year.

Each day, the department holds two to three hours of training, Sloan said, and it soon will be required to conduct at least 76 hours of training per firefighter every two years.

“Every shift has a training,” Sloan said. “They do at least two to three hours of training a day. That’s one of the reasons when people come by they may see Engine 3 from Prides Corner at Public Safety. They are actually doing training. We work together on fire incidents as a crew, so we need to be a solid unit.”

The department expects an increase of nearly 900 calls this year for a projected total of 5,586 calls, according to Sloan.

That’s on top of 2021’s growth, which had 4,703 calls, 634 calls over 2020. Together they present a “both amazing and concerning” growth of calls at 36% in two years, Sloan said.

Previous two-year periods would see about a 10% increase in calls, he said.

“Right now, two people are doing the jobs of three,” Sloan said. “That can be overwhelming.”

Turcotte told the American Journal in December that he had often worked 80 hours a week.

“We can now step back, work on budgetary items for instance, for me, making sure that our policies and procedures are up to snuff, while assuring good care with our EMS,” Sloan said.

The new position will add to the longevity of the chief’s tenure, Sloan said.

Langerman told the American Journal he hopes to engage the public in such things as CPR classes, and he wants to expand the city’s HeartSafe Community designation, which requires a certain amount of CPR training, available defibrillators and protocols to improve the outcomes for patients who have cardiovascular events outside of hospitals.

Langerman hopes to make Westbrook “one of the safest communities in the state.”

“I think this is a huge challenge, but certainly not an impossible task,” he said.