Adams Fire District Looks at Expenses, Mulls Expansion
ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire Department is seeking grant funding for full-time firefighters and pondering how to repair or replace a fire engine.
Fire Chief David Lennon last week told the Prudential Committee about the submission for a federal SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant to help pay for firefighters salaries and also help with his goal of pursuing a new fire station.
The firefighting positions will have a pay rate of $25 an hour. The department has budgeted $645,000 in funding from the SAFER Grant and a 25 percent contribution of $53,534.26. Fire District members had previously approved the hiring of two firefighters dependent on obtaining the three-year grant.
"I feel that we are looking at two crises, both getting coverage and also the station itself, and for the community to have to do both, it's going to be very, very difficult, and so I'm trying to go ahead and express in there that by supporting the hiring of two firefighters, it's going to make it much more palatable for our community to be in support of replacing the fire station, if we can also get outside help for staffing," he said.
Lennon said the department got some bad news from the shop about one of its engines. The vehicle's frame is suffering from corrosion, which is lessening the lifespan of the truck.
"What they're expressing is that double frame, the way it's starting to corrode and separate and push, they're saying we should either look at getting it replaced or start looking at a new truck, and we're trying to get 10 more years out of this," he said.
The committee agreed to handle safety critical items and try to keep the truck from eroding further, but Lennon said they are limited to what can be done.
"Other than continuing to make sure you get it cleaned, which we try to do as much as we can," he said. "Obviously, we've been limited to the station and spraying water inside during the winter, which is when it's affected. That's a little bit different now, because it's been in the zone underneath there, but it's an issue."
Prudential Committee member John Pansecchi, former chief, also said he would like to see expanding the district townwide. It currently does not cover areas of the town that are not on the water system but the Fire Department responds to any fire and emergency calls within the town's borders.
"I need to see us start the process of discussing the expansion of the district to cover townwide. We got a lot of information in here, and what we need to do some workshops to discuss this, and maybe our attorney present look at all our options. I don't think it's going to happen overnight," he said. "It's going to take a while, and a lot coming up over the next few years that those outside the district should be paying for fire protection."
He said it was only fair for those outside the district to pay since those in the district are billed for fire protection and streetlights. Chair Richard Kleiner agreed it was fair but they have had no luck getting those outside of the district to join.
"It is fair. We all know it's only fair. They don't think it's fair," he said. "Let's do the workshops, but initially we had two meetings with them, both times adamantly of joining the district, and that was in 2007 and 2008. Now they had 18 years to think about this, and they have not put in a petition to do this."
The district filed a home-rule petition with the Legislature to expand its coverage area several years ago but no action was taken.
Kleiner said this has to be done properly with their attorney having eyes on what they do moving forward.
"I think when we have our workshops, we have to be aware of how we go about doing this, because they cannot be coerced to make a petition," he said. "There's nothing ... we can send a letter to them but it can't have anything in there of us pushing them or hinting to them or any of that stuff."
They hope to start having workshops to help identify all of their avenues and the best way to go about expansion.
"That's why we need to meet and have some workshops with our lawyer and he look at all our options and best way to follow up on this and get it through, I just think them getting it for free creates other possible issues, too," Pansecchi said.
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