So, you want to be a fireman?

That's the question Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray is posing to anyone who applies in the coming weeks to join the town's ranks of on-call firefighters.

"We have two full-time staff, including myself, and 23 on-call fire fighters," said Murray, who's strategically placed signs around town to generate interest. "I'd like to bump that up to 30 on-call."

"You don't have to be a fireman to apply," said Lt. Patrick Saltmarsh, Fire Inspector for the Mattapoisett Fire Department and second full-time staff member.  "I would say ninety-nine percent of our applicants have no previous experience with fires."

Experience might not be a requirement, but a clean criminal record, bill of health and no tobacco use are just some of the requirements involved. A physical agility test is also required. Forget having facial hair as well.

Once an applicant jumps those hurdles it's off to the State Firefighter 1 and 2 Academy.

"There, they'll teach you everything you need to know from start to finish," said Murray.

After graduation, a new on-call firefighter is issued a pager and can respond, if able, to any of the chief's pages.

"I'll send out a page and if they can, they come," said Murray. "If we need more staff we'll send out an all-department call."

The Mattapoisett Fire Department responds to 550 to 600 calls annually for an average of 1.5 calls per day.  On-call firefighters also meet twice a month for practical training and are paid $18.50 per hour when responding to calls.

"It's sporadic though," said Murray. "I've done 30 calls in a day."

30 calls a day can seem daunting, so prospective firefighters need to be sure they're committed to the town.

"We're paid, but there's a huge element of volunteerism involved," said Saltmarsh. "It can be difficult to find a business owner who'll let an employee leave the selling floor to respond to a fire."

"It's a big commitment," said Murray.

Recently, in an example of that commitment, the Mattapoisett Fire Department provided mutual aid to the Town of Rochester in battling the three-alarm bakery fire on Marion Road. The fire raged from 10 p.m. until after midnight. As soon as the bakery fire was out, however, Mattapoisett Engine 4 was rolling back out to Onset to battle a second massive fire.

"I got home around 5 a.m. that night, that was a rough night," said Murray.

For anyone who can handle it and wants to give back to the town, however, being an on-call firefighter could be just what they're looking for.

"A lot of people might not even know we're hiring," said Murray.

"I started as an on-call guy, before that I didn't even know there was such a thing," said Saltmarsh.

Anyone interested in applying to be an on-call firefighter can apply in person at the Mattapoisett Fire Station.