Equipment funds skimpy, say officials
By Sandy Meindersma
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
RUTLAND, Mass. — The need for more money was repeated many times as nearly 20 fire chiefs and deputy chiefs met recently with a dozen area legislators to discuss their agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
"No. 1 is very simple, and that's local aid," Worcester Fire Chief Gerard A. Dio said at the March 17 meeting. "The communities as a whole depend on local aid to make things go, and fire departments are short-staffed."
"It's gotten to the point where the fire chiefs are ecstatic over a level-funded budget," said Thomas Nault, chairman of Fire District 7, a mutual aid association that covers southern Worcester County. "Our people beg, borrow and steal to outfit their trucks, and they hold cake sales for their protective gear."
Chief Dio also asked the legislators to restore the Fire Safety Equipment Program to full funding, which was originally $10 million, but was reduced to $2.5 million for fiscal 2008.
Ashburnham Fire Chief Paul J. Zbikowski said the reduction meant that his town's grant was reduced from $21,000 to $5,400. "That will only cover two and a half sets of turnout gear, but we have eight recruits in our training class," he said.
"The equipment grant is vital to our community, and $5,400 doesn't even come close to covering what we need," Chief Zbikowski said.
State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, said the fire equipment grant was never intended to be a permanent allocation in the budget, but acknowledged that the departments need the equipment.
"It was a one-time grant in response to the Worcester Cold Storage fire" in 1999, Mr. Brewer said.
The chiefs also asked that the $1.2 million for the Student Awareness for Fire Education program be restored. Mr. Brewer said he was confident that would happen.
"The best fire is the one that never happens," Mr. Brewer said. "The SAFE program really works - there were 43 fatalities in 2006, which is the lowest ever since they've been keeping records."
State Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, agreed with Mr. Brewer. "It's really short money," she said.
In addition to asking for the equipment grants and SAFE funding, Fitchburg Fire Chief Kevin D. Roy made a pitch for Homeland Security funding to be directed to the fire departments.
"Homeland Security (money) needs to be earmarked for fire services," Chief Roy said. "The police and fire departments in Fitchburg can't talk to one another on the same frequency, and I can't talk to Leominster, who's in our community every day. We need to be able to protect our own people when they're going into the field."
Mr. Nault also advocated for the Harkins-Balser bill, which would require sprinklers for buildings larger than 7,500 square feet. The bill was filed in response to the Rhode Island nightclub fire in 2003 that killed 100 people.
"Fire chiefs have a bound duty to protect property. We know that sprinklers make a building safer," Mr. Nault said. "Why is this dying year after year?"
