North St Fire cant be closed because of the train tracks

if they always find the money for the schools why cant we find the money for public safety?

North St fire cant be closed because of the train tracks

I so agree the south st station shouldn't be closed down haven't they learned from the past its pretty sad how many people almost died because of it

Gordon I feel your pain but how can we cut the salary of a firefighter making 50 grand or a dpw worker who probably makes less than that. The worker is not the problem here. Mr. Montouri himself in this interview revealed that he has over 4 million, that could be used to keep it open and it would only require roughly 8% of his stabilization fund. He's willing to close a fire station for half a year over $350,000, 8% of his emergency fund! That's the price for the safety of the town, apparently not worth it to him.

john smith get your facts straight. look at this salary link I would say the average DPW and firefighter salary in 2011 was $75,000 per year
http://www.tewksbury.net/Pages/TewksburyMA_BComm/BOS/Annual_Reports/Annua2011.pdf

Finally some seeing through John Smiths comments btw he get's more condescending when you don't agree with fireman John or is it Bill? Let me tell you something!!!!

I totally agree Melissa. This year to year game has to end. But for the time being the money is there and if necessary should be used responsibly and keeping a fire station open is responsible. This is my last post, but I sincerely hope the other residents share my concern and desire to have all stations open.

Maybe that $400K he was going to give for the field turf at the HS field?

Im not losing focus, what I am losing is faith in the elected officials of this town as well as all of those in the unions that continue to demand additional moneys and benefits when the econony cannot afford them. I work in the private sector and have had to without pay increases, cutting costs within the office however still expected to fully provide the same level of services to the patients that walk through our front doors. As I posted previously, why is it always South Tewksbury that gets the cuts? How is it being unreasonable to ask the residents of North Tewksbury to accept their firestation be closed for part of the year? I dont see that as losing focus, I see that as trying to spread the cuts throughout the town instead of them falling sqarely on the shoulders of the South Tewksbury residents.

Amy, if you worked at Dunkin' Donuts and there were 2 people on duty to handle the morning rush with 20 constant customers for counter and drive thru. And say your manager had $4 mil sitting in the bank. Would it be unreasonable of you to think the manager might hire 1 more person to handle the patrons in a timely manner. These articles are not about salaries and benefits. It is about informing the public that if any of the stations are closed, the Fire Department may not be able to respond to any emergency in as timely a manner as you the tax payer deserve.

Dave this article may not be about the salaries but you cannot deny that the salaries play a HUGE roll in the overall budget for the town. Regardless if you work in the public sector, private sector or on the moon, lets not ignore the facts here. Times are tough, cuts will be felt and cuts must happen, Im simply asking the cuts be felt around the town, not focused on the South Tewksbury residents. This appears to be yet another attempt to scare the taxpayers of this town into compliance.

Amy/
these comments are apparently striking a nerve through employees of TFD, you don't have to take their bullying or sarcasm from these HACKs, there guzzling off the honest hard working private sector...they resort to caveman tactics..the station has been closed more than it's been open and now all of sudden these firemen come on here to complain, where were they 5yrs ago !

Amy don't listen to Dave, the angry one. He obviously has an anti public employee agenda and is trying to turn this issue in that direction. He is as clueless as anyone who has ever posted on here and has offered nothing but hateful comments and name calling,"hacks, as he has put it over and over. He would be the first to complain if it took 10 minutes for a fire truck to show up at his house. Amy this is nothing more than the firefighters getting the message out there and saying they have had enough. They want the fire houses open so they can do their job safely and efficiently. This angry guy has made crazy comments like "lay them all off" and "close the station permanently". Does that sound like something a sane person would say?

Amy,
You have to laugh at the Guys on here, fireman by night, Kirby vacuum salesman by day!

I think you are referring to the one on South St.

Yes. South & Lakeview. 2 children died and several injured, including a semiconscious Tewksbury firefighter who had to be dragged out of a 2nd story window and down over two ladders.

That same wonderful outcome could have been realized with two firefighters on duty. Two ffs on duty can do so much more than no ffs on duty.
How about we consider that as a possible solution to this closing problem?

John your insight is well directed but the national standard is a minimum 4 firefighters on a truck. Tewksbury already runs under the standard with 3. Two firefighters on a truck is unsafe and not an affective team. Any similar community that runs two guys on a truck has more stations, more trucks, etc. They have two guys on board SOME of their trucks but they have six fire trucks showing up. If the town drops the level of service, it will never be restored. That it not acceptable with increasing call volumes, an aging population, and a rapidly growing town.

A national statndard of 4 on a truck is merely a statndard, a recommendation, and not a law. If 4 on a truck works for some jurisdiction out there in the nation then fine, go for it. But let's not incorporate national standards here in Tewksbury if they don't work for us. One blanket recommendation can not cover every situation of every city or town throughout the nation.
If we have to, then let's run 2 FFs on a piece. Those 6 stations somewhere out there responding are going to be some distance away. You want 6 stations responding, let's have the 3 from Tewksbury, and 1 each from Wilmington, Billerica and Andover come in on any report of a working fire. If they're not needed, the captain can just send them back to their towns or have them cover the Tewksbury stations.
You say that 2 ff on a truck is unsafe. I assume you mean unsafe for the ffs and you may be coorrect there, but I think it is more unsafe for the citizens of Tewksbury. And I would contend that even with a crew of 5, certain situations are unsafe for ffs to respond to. Its the nature of the beast. But I would certainly prefer to have 2 ff who are fully trained and equipped responding to a life or death emergency quickly, than to have 3 ffs responding with a several minute delay.
And please don't assume that if the town drops the level of service that it will never be restored. That type of scare rhetoric is not needed in this discussion.
Thank you for your concerns in this matter.

John it is not scare Rhetoric. Tewksbury had more firefighters in 1979 than they do now. That level was lost and never restored, and that is part of why we are in this dilemma in the first place, so it is based on facts. If the dept. had extra personnel the station would never close. The fire dept has run at bare minimum staffing and this is what happens. The Bean counters are not overly concerned with safety, their goal is money. There are standards and recommendations for a reason John. The NFPA has conducted vast amounts of research into this and other areas of fire protection, and that is why they make recommendations. They are not merely numbers thrown out there for no reason. Tewksbury is already not following the recommendation by running with 3 firefighters, going down to two is half the standard, not enough.

I'm sorry I used the term scare rhetoric. It managed to get us off topic. Let's continue the 2 ffs on E2 discussion, and leave the NFPA for a future topic.
2 ffs on duty in the station could have similarly saved that young lady's life in the situation above. Two ffs can assist in removing injured people from a car that is just catching fire from an accident at South and Main. Two ffs may be able to hold a fire in check in an attached garage, preventing it from spreading to the residence. At 4 pm, 2 ffs responding to a call on Pringle St. can initiate CPR and defibrillate a young mother of 3. 2 ffs on duty at the station can answer the doorbell to anyone looking for assistance. And please remember that in only a couple of minutes, more troops will be rolling in to assist, be it the center station ffs, the police or even an out of town agency. 2 is much better than none..

John unfortunately the NFPA, 2 ff on a truck, the history of the dept., staffing levels, and safety are all elements of this topic. They are all intertwined. It is not as simple as let's put two guys on a truck because at least it is something. It is not a safe standard or even close. If it is allowed to happen now, that may become the norm as history has shown in this town. The fact of the matter is the town has money to properly staff the fire dept. but is CHOOSING not to. This is in the best interest of the town and fire dept in the long run. Tewksbury does not want to be known as the town that abuses mutual aid. Mutual aid is not set up to be considered for front line responses. It is occasional support when our resources are totally exhausted. Relying on other towns for daily support is not the right direction or a responsible public safety practice.

Put the 2 ff standard into practice whenever necessary, and have SOP's in place for the the ffs to follow when it occurs. In this town, the incidents where 2 ffs can do a world of good safely far outweigh the instances where the ffs will be responding to unsafe incidents. Remember, backup crews are also coming in short time. And as an added benefit to the ffs, getting water on a fire in its incipient stages will produce a far safer fireground operation for all responders.

John we will agree to disagree. Settling for an inadequate fire dept to save a few dollars is not a bet I am willing to accept. Ultimately it will be up to the residents, because the opinions of the people who do this for a living, or the researchers who have decades of data (NFPA), seem to have little or no value to the management of this town.

I have been told that the ambulance service does pay for itself. However, you are taking away from the town 2 (and sometimes 4) trained and equiped firefighters when they transport a patient. Take Chelmsford for example. The private ambulance provider pays the town to provide service, as well as paying the town some amount for their share of using the dispatch service. Not only does this free up ffs for other duties, but it also adds at least 2 more trained and equiped EMTs to provide town services.

A private Ambulance service would take money away from the town, TFD ambulance makes around $600,000 +or- annually for around 2,000 EMS Transports, this money goes into the general fund and is split up to all departments (60% to the schools and 40% to the rest). Trinity Ambulance has paid the City of Lowell $1.00 (one dollar) since getting the contract in 1992. As of 2009 Trinty responds to approx 35,000 EMS calls annually in the city. Only when Trinity wanted to extend the contract with the city an annual $150,000 paymet was offered because of a competing Ambulance service in the city, not sure what Trinity pays Chelmsford but I'm guessing its not what a FD based Ambulance brings in for the town. Trade $600,000 for 2 or sometimes 4 FFs, who will be back in town within an hour of initial dispatch?

I think there's a bunch more numbers that need to be crunched here. I don't know them all, but the costs for the ambulance, equipment, staff, training, insurance and accounting all need to be figured in. Then there would be the savings to the budget for not having to hire out on an overtime basis. With the ffs working 24 hour shifts, that just might be a huge cost.

I have always felt that this report was as well researched and as well balanced as any as I have read regarding the private versus public Ambulance debate.

I have long held the opinion that Private is cheaper than Public. We are a semi-private service now, if you don't already know this.

I have also called for a complete and unbiased review and accounting of all and actual costs of the Town providing Ambulance service. After that let the chips fall where they may.

The economy is not getting better. As the Taxpayers begin to struggle with rising and unsustainable costs there is going to have to be cut backs somewhere. I'm sorry but the Golden Goose is no more.

Private allows the Town to keep a lean department.
I am not in favor of pay cuts.

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pdf/efop/efo29183.pdf

If I may ask: who are you ("Who Me), who have you called upon to do this complete review and what is the cost involved?

That money will fund the OT budget fully and keep the South Station open 24/7 365 for FY14. Article in Lowell Sun today has how each station is staffed or Tewksbury.info fire dept link has all the info on staffing. The money has nothing to do with maintenance or cost of the building it's to staff it with personnel when someone is out.

John,

Who me is Harry from TI. He supposedly doesn't live in town and I would bet my bottom dollar he hasn't called anyone to do a review of anything. He just likes seeing his thoughts in print on various web boards. Hope that clarifies.

Sean: Check your attic. There's a thin fire safety wall between your unit and the next. Check to see if there are holes punched through this wall so that wires can go through. Fire could rip right through from attic to attic if that is stilll the case. Doug