Limestone’s Poitras and crew cool down during summer heat
LIMESTONE, Maine — There is the expression “It takes a village to raise a child.” Since 2012, Limestone’s fire chief and his crew have embellished this adage with “It takes a volunteer fire department to create a cornerstone event at MSSM’s Summer Camp.”
Perched atop the highest point on campus, Chief Jon Poitras was found on a recent sunny afternoon monitoring the flow of water from the 1993 International Tanker truck, which holds 5.000 gallons of water, onto a large plastic sheet — the very best for a water slide.
MSSM officials said the water slide event is a key attraction of the summer camp, and makes a great treat on a hot day.
A 1996 graduate of Limestone High School, Poitras has witnessed firsthand the benefits of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics to the Limestone Community.
“I am honored to be able to give a little of my time and resources available to me to MSSM. It is my pleasure to share the values and quality of life Limestone offers with the young people found at the magnet school,” he said.
“Every time I hear their shouts of delight as they slip along the water brings a smile to my face. I am proud to have MSSM in my community.”
School personnel said they are very grateful to the all-volunteer fire department. This is not the chief’s full-time job; he has one of those already. One might think the water in each tankful is simply pumped in via a fire hydrant; it is not. The town relies on the water pressure to remain available in its hydrants in the event of an emergency, so the fill-up is more comparable to a garden hose filling a pool. Several hours are required to prepare, and it takes about 45 minutes to disperse all 5,000 gallons.
Poitras is usually the volunteer to step up each week throughout the summer as not every volunteer firefighter has the special license and training to operate the tanker truck or be available during the workweek.
In addition to juggling his role as fire chief, Poitras has a full-time job with Emera Maine, serves on several community civic committees, and is married to his wife, Angela, and they have two boys, Carsen and Kaleb. The chief coaches Little League baseball. His two sons are on the Machias Savings Bank team in Caribou and recently won the league championship.
Poitras has been involved with the Limestone Fire Department all his life. His father was a volunteer firefighter and so was his grandfather. He actually started working with LFD in 1994, at the age of 16, and worked his way up to becoming chief in 2013.
MSSM’s summer camp director, Marie Beckum, completing her first year as director, noted how excited the campers are each time the water-filled truck slowly ascends the hill.
“It amazes me how much these youngsters enjoy the rush of sliding down the water slide. We recognize this as one of the highlights each week and it gives them a welcome change of scenery from the labs and experiments they are conducting during the day,” Beckum said.
“This year, we hosted over 500 campers from every county in the state along with several out-of-staters, and even a young lady from China attended for two weeks. I am impressed with the dedication and community pride shown by Chief Poitras.”
The MSSM Summer Camp first opened in the 1998 and has enjoyed great success each year since, recently expanding the number of weeks to six. It is one of the largest feeder programs the school has ever experienced, with nearly 50 percent of the student body breing summer camp alumni.
Dean of Enrollment Alan Whittemore noted: “As I travel around the state each fall sharing the vision of MSSM, I am pleased to hear what an impact the time in Limestone had on Maine’s young scholars, and often it includes Chief Poitras’ homemade water slide. I believe this outstanding example of community support is one reason why we are so successful here in the little town of Limestone.”
