Town of Durham, Maine

Emergency Services

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY DIAL 911

Area emergency services are listed below. For non-emergent inquiries or questions, call the numbers below. If you have an emergency, DIAL 9-1-1

Emergency Services

We proudly serve our community.

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Fire & Rescue

Front of Fire House

Mission Statement

Durham Fire & Rescue and its membership shall provide the Town of Durham with the highest possible level of safety and service, through education, prevention, and the delivery of emergency fire, rescue, and medical services.

Overview

The Durham Fire and Rescue Department receives an average of more than 450 emergency calls each year. These emergencies include: house and car fires, automobile accidents, wildfires, Emergency Medical Service calls, and more. To provide this service for our community, we utilize a combination staffing model that consists of a full-time Fire Rescue Chief, a part-time cross-trained Office Manager, volunteer fire and rescue members, and supplemental per-diem staff. Members train regularly to maintain the proficiency and skill to effectively respond to any emergency.

Our station is located at 615 Hallowell Road in Durham.

Fire and Ambulance Services:

  • The Durham Fire and Rescue Department is still fully functional and taking steps to ensure we continue to provide a rapid and safe response for emergency services requests here in Durham. We continue to communicate with state and local health officials daily, so as things change, we will keep you up to date as quickly as possible. There are some changes, so please be patient with the members responding to your call for help.

Emergency Medical Service Calls:

  • Always, Durham Fire Rescue is fully equipped and ready to respond any ambulance call. However, during this outbreak, there are changes that have been implemented at the recommendation of the CDC, Maine EMS and local healthcare authorities that will change how we respond to these calls. Please be patient with the following changes:

    • More questions from dispatchers: In the attempt to prescreen and alert providers to possible exposed or ill COVID-19 patients, there are specific screening questions that will be asked. Please be patient with the dispatchers and answer all questions.
    • Slower approach from EMS Providers: From the screening questions, if EMS providers are advised there is a potential exposure, we will not be immediately walking into your home. Members will be delayed moving from the ambulance to your home as they will need to don protective gear before approaching you or entering your home. If you can, position yourself at or near your entryway to speak with your EMS provider. From that point, we will utilize directives from a physician contact to determine our next steps. We are there to help, so please be patient.

Burn Permits and General Questions:

  • As with all other public buildings in the Town of Durham, we are closed to the general public. Please call the station at 353-2473 for non- emergency questions or concerns. If you require a burning permit, please go online to www.wardensreport.com. The site is preprogrammed to open for permits every day at 9:00 a.m. We will be evaluating conditions daily and if we need to restrict permits for safety reasons, we will lock the site from issuing permits. Otherwise, you can print and use the permit as usual. We WILL NOT be issuing paper burn permits from the station. All rules and restrictions of burning still apply. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to call the station during normal business hours. If you come to the station, you will find it locked. Please use the audio/video doorbell at the main entry. Someone will answer you and provide direction.

Contact Information:

  • Address: Fire Station, 615 Hallowell Road, Durham, ME 04222
  • In Case of Emergency: DIAL 9-1-1
  • Non-Emergencies: (207) 353-2473
  • Fax: (207) 353-8917

Chief Rob Tripp

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Durham Fire Chief - Rob Tripp

Chief Tripp has more than 30 years of experience in the fire-rescue field. He has an associate’s degree in EMS, a bachelor’s degree in fire science, and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Emergency Management. He is a certified Chief Fire Officer, as well as an Instructor 2, an Inspector 2, and a Hazardous Materials Technician.

  • Chief Tripp has been a firefighter and officer in Maine, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
  • Chief Tripp also serves as the Town of Durham Health Officer.
  • Email: chief@durhammaine.gov
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Durham Fire and Rescue Members 2024

Officers

  • Chief Robert Tripp  
  • Assistant Chief Curtis Dimock Jr. 
  • Deputy Chief John Faith 
  • Chaplain Ron Parker 
  • Captain Adam Salve 
  • Captain Diana Dimock  
  • Lieutenant Dan Thibeault 
  • Lieutenant Steven Faith
  • Lieutenant Joseph Lemont

Fire/EMS

  • AEMT Noah Bachner
  • EMT Maggie Bertocci
  • FF Anthony Bradstreet 
  • FF/EMT Troy Cailler
  • AEMT/FF Jeremiah Chaussee
  • FF Jaison Ciaranello 
  • FF Timothy Dobson
  • FF Korey Enman-Curtis 
  • FF/EMT-P Ishmael Flynn
  • FF/AEMT Kristian Foster
  • FF George Harris
  • FF/EMT-P Christopher Higgins 
  • EMT-B Caleb Hunter
  • Christopher James 
  • FF C.J. Larrabee 
  • FF/EMT Noah Larrabee
  • FF/EMT Andrew Levesque
  • FF/AEMT Liam Love 
  • FF Peter Pierce 
  • Engineer Milton Simon 
  • FF Daniel Simonitis 
  • FF/AEMT Nicholas Webber

Fire Support

  • Kevin Merrill
  • Rick Merrill
  • Joseph Roy
  • Bill St. Michel
  • Jere Waterman

In Training

  • Stan Allen
  • John Bellino
  • Patrick Boyle
  • Aaron Carroll
  • Ryan Colpaert
  • Frank Copp Jr.
  • Kaitlin Gagnon
  • Zackary Harris
  • Camilla Lattanzi
  • Breck Manseau
  • Jacob Mills
  • Matthew Wark

Auxiliary

  • Linda Morris, Auxiliary President
  • Jen Therrien, Auxiliary Vice President
  • Debbie Koval, Treasurer
  • Roxie Dobson, Secretary
  • Kimberlei Bradstreet, Secretary
  • Laura Gagnon
  • Aimee Larrabee
  • Kathy St. Michel
  • Laura Merrill-Belanger
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Our Apparatus

Engine 21

  • Engine 21: (2004 HME) This engine is First Due on vehicle fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous material incidents, and special rescue responses.

Tanker 29

  • Tanker 29: (2004 GMC) It is used as a mobile water supply, responding on structural and forestry incidents.

Truck 24

  • Truck 24: (1994 Spartan) This truck is used for large structure fires.

Rescue 25

  • Rescue 25: (2019 Ford F-550/Braun) Fully ALS-equipped ambulance capable of providing care up to the Paramedic level.

Rescue Boat

  • Rescue Boat: (2002 14’ Lund) Watercraft that is deployed for all water and ice rescue-related incidents.

Engine 22

  • Engine 22
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Fire and Rescue History

The History of Durham Fire & Rescue

In 1948, a group of volunteers formed the first fire department in the town of Durham. Two years later, the department became incorporated, making it the Durham Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. At the time, the fledgling department was supported solely by the fundraising efforts of the volunteers. The department had minimal equipment and did not have a station until sometime in the 1950’s.

In November of 1974, the department became a Town of Durham municipal department when the property, building, and equipment were all turned over to the town. At that time the town purchased its first new engine.

STATION

The first station was built on the same lot as the current fire station on Hallowell Road. That building was a two-bay barn with a meeting room on the second floor; an additional two bays were added to the back of the structure around 1965. The station remained the same until 1982, when a new facility was erected behind the original station. The new station featured four bays, a meeting room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a hose tower. Once the new building was completed the original barn was torn down.

In July of 2002, a new building which doubled the footprint of the station was completed, which is the building that stands today. The Durham fire station now consists of a meeting room equipped with telecommunication equipment, four administrative offices, two bathrooms (one of which has a handicapped accessible shower), six bays, a full kitchen, and two storage rooms.

DISPATCH

Until 1997, the Durham Fire Department used what was called a “Red-Phone” system for dispatching. There were four or five dispatchers on the department who had “red phones” in their homes. When a person called the emergency number, the dispatchers would take the call and alert members of the department on their call list by phone. There was also a button on the side of the red phones that would activate the siren at the top of the hose tower at the station.

red phone

In 1997, the department began to be dispatched over its radio frequency. Until the state transitioned to 9-1-1 for all emergency calls, the seven digit emergency number would ring into dispatch in Freeport, who would dispatch the call and once a dispatcher arrived at the station, radio communications were handled in-house. In early 2008, dispatch moved to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, where the entire call is dispatched.

RESCUE

The rescue portion of the Durham Fire Department was formed in 1997 as a First Responder service. Until then, EMS responses were handled by Lisbon Emergency, Freeport Rescue, and United Ambulance. In 1999, the Town of Durham contracted with Lisbon Emergency to cover all emergency transports. In 2001, the contract was awarded to Northeast Mobile Health Services of Brunswick.

NEMHS donated the first Rescue to the department, and in 2004, the Town purchased a used box-type ambulance from the Town of North Yarmouth. Shortly after that, the department began transporting nights and weekends.

In 2005, Durham Fire and Rescue began transporting all of the emergency calls. The Town authorized the purchase of a brand-new Rescue in 2007, which is paid for by the revenues from transporting.

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HELP US HELP YOU!

house number

  • In order for our fire and rescue personnel to provide prompt emergency service, we need to be able to FIND you. Please provide LARGE, easy-to-read numbers on your house or buildings, and on your mailbox (both sides).  By doing so, you will help us find your location faster, day or night!

  • As a reminder there is an ordinance covering the marking of your home, but more importantly is the delay in help that markings can cause.  A quick challenge would be drive on a road and try to figure out what a particular house number is. Now for an added challenge try it at night or during a storm, or go the opposite direction as the mail carrier.  It’s tough to say the least. The worst part is those numbers quite frequently delay our response, your help!

  • Here are a few pointers:

    • Be sure the numbers are visible from the side emergency apparatus most likely will be approaching from. A safe measure is to put them facing both directions.
    • How big are the numbers? The ordinance is pretty specific 4” and says where the marking should be. You know where you live we don’t make sure we can figure it out.
    • If there are a cluster of mailboxes with numbers you know which one is yours, we don’t, put a number on the house if it is visible or put up a post.
    • Reflective numbers are great the illuminated ones are even better.

Address Requirements to Ensure Safety for All Members of Our Community

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Helpful Links and Documents

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Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department

Androscoggin County

The Sheriff’s Office is located on the first floor of the county building at 2 Turner Street, Auburn, Maine, 04210. At the corner of Turner and Court Streets. Use the Turner St. entrance.

Contact Information

Sheriff - Eric G. Samson

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