“People don’t know what these guys go through,” Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford.

On Sunday morning, October 9, 7:38 a.m., Boothbay volunteer firefighters were called out to fight a fire on Pleasant Cove Road.

“Two of our guys, Dave Pratt and Matt Wade, live pretty close. They got there in minutes. From their description of the (two-story cape) home, we knew it was not going to be good,” Spofford said.

While driving from his Barters Island home, the chief, who has led the department for the last 16 years, got on his cell phone and asked for help. He knew firefighters from Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb were already on the way. He asked volunteers from Wiscasset, Newcastle and Damariscotta to pitch in.

“The good thing about this peninsula is that everyone helps,” he said.

When he pulled up to the scene, Spofford could see the flames billowing out of both ends of the gable. Volunteers wrestling heavy hoses peeked in the windows and saw the center staircase had collapsed.

Although witnesses said there were two men trapped inside, he knew it was just too dangerous for his volunteers to dash into the flames in a rescue attempt.

Sheriff’s deputies told him a 48-year-old woman had already escaped by jumping into a bush from a second-story window. Another woman, aged 26, and two children, ages 8 and 4, also escaped. But in the two upstairs bedrooms were two men, aged 50 and 23.

“When we learned we had two (victims) inside (the burning house), we knew it would be a recovery,” Spofford said.

As volunteers drowned the flames, they called the State Fire Marshal and waited for his staff to arrive and take charge of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Spofford and his senior staffers carefully shepherded the less experienced volunteers away from the smoldering ruins and the bodies. After an hour or so, the state investigators arrived and huddled with Spofford’s firefighters to figure the best way to recover the victims’ bodies.

Because the inside of the structure was blocked, the only way to recover the victims was to lean ladders against the remaining walls and climb in the second story windows. Once inside, firefighters found the victims in separate bedrooms. They strapped them on stretcher-like devices, and carefully lowered them down the ladders.

“I am so proud of our guys. They recovered the victims’ bodies and they did it with dignity,” Spofford said.

A couple of days after the incident, the chief gathered the 30 or so volunteers at the Boothbay Town Hall for a debriefing. “It was just the guys who were there. We had some experts on hand to help them talk about it,” he said.

“Most of them are pretty tough. They usually keep quiet about their feelings. But a tragedy is tough on them. You know, you sign up for the fire (fighting) part. You don’t think about recovery (of victims’ bodies.) You can fix property, but when people lose their lives…”

Spofford stopped for a moment, glanced at the ceiling. and continued: “It is hard when you can’t save someone.”

It is all part of being a volunteer firefighter in a rural setting. Here, there are no professionals on station waiting 24/7 for an emergency. The 35 or so volunteers who make up the Boothbay department are our friends and neighbors.

Most of the time, they, and neighboring volunteer fire departments, respond to what Spofford calls “piddly little calls” like malfunctioning smoke detectors or minor fender benders. It is rare when they are called to the scene of a fatal fire. When they are, it can be a traumatic experience. It has been about five years since the last one, he said.

In our neighborhoods and around the nation, most volunteer departments have trouble getting new members. Folks have to work for a living. In some locations, employers are reluctant to permit volunteer firefighters to leave work in the middle of the day. Not so here.

“Some of our guys (including Spofford) are self-employed. Others work in lumber yards, grocery stores, a couple of them work at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. We are fortunate that their bosses let them go,” he said.

Spofford, 58, is a builder, banjo player, drummer, and fire chief. He has been on the department since 1980.

He knows our local volunteer firefighters spend lots of time training and learning their trade. They sacrifice a lot to help their neighbors, but sometimes the physical work is easier than the mental part.

“I am proud of them. I told them they were very  professional,” said the chief.