Pilot Program Opens Volunteer Position in Fire Department for University Staff

Dilshanie Perera

Borough Council unanimously approved the creation of the “associate member” position in the Princeton Fire Department at its meeting last Tuesday. The new position allows for Princeton University to launch a pilot program in which staff members can volunteer with the fire department during their work hours.

“The new associate membership will provide our employees with leave time during the day to come and respond to fire calls from the fire department,” said Kristin Appelget, director of community and regional affairs at PU.

Noting that of the 30 applications they have received so far, about 20 candidates already have Firefighter 1 certification, Ms. Appelget added that the University will also run its own training program on campus.

After over a year of development, the program’s launch is expected this spring, according to a University press release.

PU Assistant for Facilities Roger Demareski said that “one of the largest challenges for the Princeton Fire Department is that many of its members who are normally available during nights and weekends work at a job outside of Princeton during the day.” In addition, he said, “We proposed that one possible solution is to leverage the employees who work here at the University during the day as a way to augment the department.

As for the program’s future after the year-long pilot, if it proves successful, it would be opened up to more staff members at the University. During the meeting, Ms. Appelget suggested that offering the training program to members of the public and students may also be a possibility.

“I think everyone is very pleased that this is essentially a no-cost way to help the Borough and Township,” Mr. Demareski observed.

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