In an effort to run District No. 3 Fire Department more effectively, the fire chief has made four full-time hires.

"At minimum, we want to have a three-member company working 24 hours a day and seven days a week," said Fire Chief Richard Arruda. "That was always my goal."

Garth McNamara, Alan King, Daniel Moura, and Brendan O’Conner will start by mid-February, said Arruda.

All four were previously call firefighters, responding to the firehouse or scene when there's a incident, as opposed to working at the firehouse and being able to respond immediately with the proper trucks and equipment. Call firefighters are trained to respond to incidents similarly to full-time firefighters.

The staff currently has 11 full-time employees — including the chief, deputy chief, cpatain/fire inspector, and eight firefighters/EMTs — and 15 part-time employees, and 18 on-call firefighters.

King previously served as chair of the District No. 3 Prudential Committee, which oversees the finances of the fire district. He has stepped down to accept the full-time firefighter position, and current committee member Terrance Pimental will step into the role of chairman.

The committee is a three-person board, however, with elections at the end of April, the committee has decided to hold off on appointing someone to fill the three-month gap.

Pimental will continue working alongside committee member Robert Zina. Arruda explained that the clerk will be eligible to vote on district issues if a tie needs to be broken.

Pimental was appointed to the committee in June to fill a vacancy, and will have to run for re-election in April as well. Elected committee members serve a three-year term.