Thanks to a $100,000 donation from the Sagamore, the Bolton Volunteer Fire Company will own ten new Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs), equipment that is essential to the work and the safety of firefighters.
“With the support of Tom Guay, the general manager, the owners of the Sagamore went above and beyond what anyone could expect,” said Don Volkman, chairman of the Bolton Fire Commission. “We are incredibly grateful to the Sagamore for this very generous contribution.”
According to Volkman, SCBAs allow firefighters to continue breathing when extinguishing fires in smoke-filled, oxygen-depleted rooms and buildings.
They are meant to be replaced periodically, and the Bolton Fire Company’s pieces of equipment were nearing their dates of expiration.
For Tom Guay, the donation is an affirmation of the strong ties between the resort, the volunteer fire company and the community as a whole.
“These are our neighbors,” said Guay. “The fire department is woven into the fabric of the community, and ours is a small community. This is who we are.”
Few outside the community are aware of the many ways in which Bolton’s first responders and the Sagamore support one another.
Firefighters are allowed to use the hotel’s fitness center at no cost. Free lunches are available to EMS providers. Bolton’s fire boat is berthed on hotel property on Green Island.
“We’re happy to be able to support local organizations, agencies and institutions. Anytime the phone rings, we’re all in,” said Tom Guay.
Guay said the Bolton Volunteer Fire Company’s knowledge of the hotel, its campus, buildings and personnel, is invaluable.
“The fire department knows this property. They know the lodges. They know the hotel. The volunteers have been in them, around them and through them. When they roll, they know where they’re going,” said Guay.
Members of the Fire Department meet frequently with the Sagamore’s security team to coordinate protocols and to establish contingency plans in the event of emergencies, said Guay.
Don Volkman credited Cheryl Cahill, the Bolton Fire District’s Purchasing Agent, with initiating conversations with the Sagamore about the need to replace its SCBAs.
“I relayed the request for support to the owners and they said, ‘we’re in for $100,000.’ That pleased me as much as it did the fire department,” said Tom Guay.
