A message from Chief Thompson
Dear Hanson residents:
During the April 6th selectmen’s meeting, budget reductions were discussed in the event an override fails. The reduction discussed for the fire department’s fiscal year 2022 budget was $485,000 - $465,000 in salaries and wages and $20,000 in expenses.
As your fire chief, I feel compelled to inform you of the impact this will have on our department and our ability to provide adequate fire and EMS service. I am most concerned with the reduction in the salary and wage line and feel we could manage the reduction in expenses, even though our expense budget is already lean.
The Hanson Fire Department currently has eighteen full-time members, including myself and the deputy chief who work administrative schedules. We have four shifts – each with three firefighters and a lieutenant.
We currently maintain four firefighters on duty at all times for initial calls. This staffing level allows us to meet an industry standard of having four firefighters arrive at a structure fire on the initial response. We make every effort to have a lieutenant on duty at all times. This is crucial as it reinforces our rank structure and provides the needed supervision at emergency scenes. We also have a group of twelve call firefighters who augment our full-time force.
I believe we currently provide an adequate service to our residents. A reduction of $465,000 to our salaries and wages line would result in the elimination of four full-time firefighter/paramedics or a quarter of our fire/EMS staff. Also, our call-firefighters salary and wages line would be cut in half. This would greatly affect our ability to provide adequate service to our residents and impact your fire department in the following ways:
Working for the Hanson Fire Department would become more dangerous for all members.
Protecting life and property would become more difficult and require greater risk-taking to do so.
The ability to provide a second ambulance for EMS calls would be greatly reduced. In turn, revenue brought in through ambulance billing would decrease.
There would no longer be fire-based training.
Members would receive the minimum legally required EMS training (10 paid hours for each person annually). As a result, we’ll quickly fall behind the curve at providing cutting edge advanced life support to our residents.
There would be no department wide training allowing us to practice working together in a large group at a fire or other large incident
We run the risk of our remaining members resigning to go to other fire departments that provide better staffing and long-term stability. If anyone besides the laid-off firefighters leave, we have no choice but to backfill with overtime until a new firefighter can be hired and trained. This is a tremendous expense until the vacancy is filled. We hired, trained and invested in these firefighters. They invested in this department and our community.
Morale would suffer greatly due to all of the above.
Please keep in mind, in the event these reductions are necessary, and these positions are restored in the future, there are substantial costs to recruit, train and outfit new hires.
This department has worked hard to get where we are today, and any step backwards causes me concern regarding the delivery of service. If staffing levels are reduced, as your fire chief, I am not confident the service we will be able to provide will be adequate, especially on second and subsequent calls for service.
Over the last five years, we responded to an average of 1,967 calls for service annually. Multiple calls occurred an average 15% of the time, which equates to approximately 295 times each year. This reduction would bring us to pre-2000 staffing levels when our call volume was an average of 1,200 calls for service annually.
With 200 additional living units anticipated to be added in Hanson (some are already being built and others are proposed), we anticipate an additional 100 to 200 calls per year. One of the buildings currently under construction is especially of concern. The building is the first three-story residential structure we will have in town. Due to its size and occupant load, it requires more personnel on the initial response to effectively mitigate any life safety hazards.
Due to the increase in residential housing and the anticipated impact on current staffing levels, this department’s plan was to propose adding one firefighter a shift (four total members) and apply for supplemental assistance through a federal grant. All of this has been put on hold until the financial situation of our town is determined in May.
In 2019, our Town was evaluated by the Insurance Service Office (ISO). ISO has been evaluating and assigning fire protection ratings to fire departments since 1971. ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program (PPC) plays an important role in the underwriting process at insurance companies. Most insurers use PPC information as part of their decision making when determining insurance premiums for personal and commercial property. Our Town was upgraded from a Class 4 to a Class 2. Any significant reduction in staffing levels can Impact our rating, which in turn can cause insurance rates to rise.
I want to be clear; the sole purpose of my letter is to inform you of the concerns I have reducing the fire department’s requested budget by nearly a half-million dollars.
This department, no matter what happens, will continue to do our best to provide you with fire and EMS services within our ability as defined by our allocated budget.
I do not and will not engage on social media regarding this issue. If anyone has any questions or concerns or would like to meet to discuss this matter, do not hesitate to contact me at JThompson@hanson-ma.gov or 781-294-8008.
Sincerely,
Jerome A. Thompson Jr.
Chief of Department