2004 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EASTON FIRE & RESCUE DEPARTMENT
To
The Honorable Board of Selectmen:
I respectfully submit the annual report of the Easton Fire & Rescue Department for the year 2004.
2004 was another busy year for the Easton Fire Department. The department responded to a total of 3018 incidents in 2004. A total of 5815 pieces of apparatus were utilized to handle those incidents. The department responded to 43 fires in structures, 31 brush fires, 16 vehicle fires, and 49 other types of fires. The department also responded to 1188 medical emergencies and 439 automobile accidents. A total of 1048 patients were transported to local hospitals. The remainder of the responses can be categorized as either investigations of potentially hazardous situations or public service calls.
When
the fire department budget was approved at the annual town meeting, it allowed
us to appoint two new firefighter / paramedics to fill vacancies that have
existed for the past several years. On
November 15, 2004 Michael Greene and Timothy Vamosi were appointed to the
department. They are both licensed
paramedics. They will be attending the
The
department is currently staffed with 33 uniformed personnel. Once again I must emphasize that we are under-staffed for a department
that is required to cover 29.4 square miles and protect approximately
24,000 residents. It is getting
increasingly difficult to handle the escalating demands for service with the
very limited on-duty staffing. The
incidence of multiple emergency calls taking place simultaneously increases
each year as the town continues to grow.
Citizens are being forced to wait for dangerously long periods of time
for the arrival of emergency vehicles because the on-duty personnel are
committed to other calls. Even with the
addition of new personnel, we still have 2 unfilled vacancies (the Deputy
Chief’s position lost through attrition and a vacancy created by a recent
retirement). Our current staffing level
remains below what it was back in the late 1980s (35 personnel). As a result of the staffing shortage, one of
our 3 fire stations (Station # 2 on
To
emphasize how critical the situation has become, in 2004 Easton Fire Department
apparatus (fire trucks and ambulances) responded on mutual aid to assist all
our surrounding communities 98 times.
Yet we had to call apparatus in from other communities 175 times to
assist us. There were 1048 patients
transported to area hospitals last year.
147 of those patients were transported by out of town ambulances. Not only were there delays in providing
emergency service waiting for the mutual aid ambulances to arrive, but there
was also a loss of revenue to the Town of
1997 = 62 or 6.9%
1998 = 68 or 7.7%
1999 = 80 or 9.4%
2000 = 116 or 10.3%
2001 = 103 or 10.2%
2002 = 125 or 12.7%
2003 = 137 or 14%
2004 = 147 or 14%
Mutual
aid is a concept that has been utilized by the fire service for over a
century. It is a system designed to help
every city and town deal with those unusual
incidents that a community cannot handle on their own. After the events of September 11, 2001 local
fire and police departments are expected to be the “first line of defense”
against terrorist activities and events involving weapons of mass destruction. However with current staffing levels, we must
rely on mutual aid just the handle the day-to-day routine calls. With all neighboring cities and towns
experiencing financial difficulties, mutual aid may not be as reliable as it
has been in the past. This will further
reduce our ability to provide the emergency services expected and demanded by
the citizens of
The
Firefighting
and emergency medical training are vital to ensuring that the Easton Fire and
Rescue Department is able to respond effectively and efficiently to the many
calls for assistance that we receive.
Most of the training is conducted “in-service” while the personnel are
on duty, but many members take advantage of training and educational
opportunities on their own “off-duty” time.
Captain James Walsh is the department’s training officer and coordinates
the training activities. We frequently
work directly with the instructors and training staff of the Department of Fire
Services Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.
This ensures that firefighting practices and procedures keep pace with
new advances in technology. As expected,
many of the training opportunities currently available deal with terrorism
preparedness.
On
an annual basis all EMTs, from the basic level to the paramedic level, are
required to complete many hours of continuing education in order to improve
their ability to deliver high quality medical care. Our EMS Training Coordinator FF / Paramedic
Brendan McCarthy and Advanced Life Support coordinator FF / Paramedic Evan
Malone conduct most of the medical training for department members along with
offering CPR and first-aid training to various groups in the community
The
most important function of any Fire & Rescue Department is to prevent the
occurrence of situations that produce injury, death, destruction to property or
negatively impact our environment. We
try to accomplish this through our Public Education and Fire Prevention
division.
The
S.A.F.E. (Student Awareness of Fire Education) Program is now in its 10th
year. This program is a cooperative
effort between firefighters, school principals, teachers, and students. The program was originally developed and
funded through a state grant. This year,
due to cuts in the state’s budget, the grant funding was significantly less
then what was received in previous years.
However, I am very proud to say that this extremely important and
successful program was presented to elementary school students, all though on a
“scaled back” manner through the determined efforts of Captain Dave Beals, FF
Larry Blye and FF Chris Mills. We hope
that the grant funding will be restored in the future in order to assist us
with expanding the program to reach other groups in the community.
The
demands on the Fire Prevention office are continuing to increase. A great deal of new construction is taking
place in
In
response to the tragic fire in West Warwick, RI almost 2-years ago, Governor
Romney commissioned a “public safety task force” to study that incident and
propose new fire safety regulations and building codes in an effort to reduce
the possibility of a similar event occurring again here in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. As a result of the task
force recommendations, the Governor signed into law a new set of regulations
(MGL Chapter 304) that will impact certain existing places of assembly with
occupancies of 100 or more people. It
will also regulate the construction of new occupancies of 50 or more
people. As a result, the
Captain James Walsh and FF William Wolffe performed
repairs and maintenance procedures to the municipal fire alarm system. Several new radio activated fire alarm boxes
were installed during the year. Master
alarm boxes activated by a building’s internal fire alarm system were installed
at the following locations; Shaw’s Market, Bourne Enterprises, Viking Sheet
Metal, 7-Eleven Store, and new commercial multi-units at
As
a result of town meeting approval, we were able to purchase a “used bucket
truck” in November. This will allow the
fire alarm repair crew to perform system maintenance in a more efficient and
safer manner.
In
early September, a new ambulance was delivered and placed in service. This unit replaces a well used 1996
ambulance. At the very end of December
(after some unforeseen delays), our new pumper arrived at Greenwood Fire
Apparatus Company in
Voters
also approved of funding to refurbish a 1992 pumper (Engine # 1). The refurbishing bid has been awarded to
Greenwood Fire Apparatus and the project will commence sometime in the early
spring of 2005.
Our
only reserve-pumping engine is Engine # 4 (a 1981 Mack). This vehicle is now 24 years old, in need of major
repairs, and does not have many of the safety features mandated in newer piece
of apparatus. This combined with the
fact that Engine # 3 (a 1987 pumper) was taken out of service in 2001 after
failing to pass a safety inspection due to severe chassis corrosion and decay, and
never replaced makes it extremely important that a new pumper be purchased as
soon as possible. This will allow us to
have a very reliable pumper to put into service when one of the front-line
units is out for repairs or routine servicing.
In
each of the past 3 years, we have applied for a federal “Assistance to
Firefighters Grant” administered by the Department of Homeland Security –
Office of Domestic Preparedness in the hopes of obtaining funding to purchase a
new pumper. Up to this point in time,
we have not been successful in obtaining a grant.
Fire
Station # 2 on
As
mentioned earlier, 2 new firefighter / paramedics (Michael Greene and Timothy
Vamosi) were appointed in November. They
are ready to serve the Town of
On
July 15, 2004 Firefighter Carey Benson retired.
He served the department and community in a very admirable and
professional manner for the past 29 years.
His experience and expertise as a firefighter and emergency medical technician
will be missed. We wish him the best for
a long and healthy retirement.
The
members of the Easton Fire & Rescue Department continue to donate many
hours of their own time in order to ensure that the department responds
efficiently to the needs of the community.
I would like to thank all of them for their commitment to this
effort.
“The Easton Fire & Rescue Department is committed to protecting the people, property, and environment within our community. We will be responsive to the needs of our citizens by providing rapid, professional, humanitarian services essential to the health, safety, and well being of the community. We will accomplish our mission through fire prevention, fire safety awareness education, fire suppression, emergency medical services, and other related emergency and non-emergency activities. We will actively participate in our community, serve as role models, and strive to effectively and efficiently utilize all of the necessary resources at our command to provide a product deemed excellent by our citizens. ALWAYS READY, PROUD TO SERVE”.
For
other Fire Department business or assistance, Dial 508-230-3311
Additional
phone numbers;
Fire Chief’s Office 508-230-0750
Fire Prevention Office
508-230-0750
Fax Number 508-238-2891
CONCLUSION
On a personal note, I would like to thank all the officers, firefighters, and the department’s administrative secretary as well as the Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator, all the Department heads and members of the various Town boards and committees for their assistance over the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas F. Stone, Fire Chief