By Rita Savard
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
DUNSTABLE, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has rejected a $168,000 grant application for replacing equipment in the town’s volunteer Fire Department.
With air tanks and flame resistant clothes being used far past their shelf lives, selectmen said the town will have to dip into its operating budget to replenish safety resources firefighters say are “long overdue.”
Homeland Security dismissed the request for aid, saying the Fire Department wouldn’t really need the money if it had been adequately funded by the town over the years, according to selectmen Chairman Ted Gaudette.
“Being the small town we are and the ultraconservative town we are has played against us a little bit,” said Gaudette.
Federal officials looked at the number of homes (1,100), the average home value ($400,000), and the town’s median income ($86,000). Considering the town’s wealth, the grant authority reported that the Fire Department has been neglected, selectmen said.
Calling Chief George Bacon a good fire chief who works hard, Gaudette said “George hasn’t been one who’s cried out for help like a lot of other departments.”
Firefighters’ gear, including helmets, jackets, pants, boots, air tanks and masks are more than 10 years old. The life span is about five years.
“Like a bottle of aspirin sitting on a shelf, the quality of the equipment degrades over time,” said volunteer firefighter Ron Mikol.
Gaudette said selectmen will reassemble a Fire Needs Investigation Committee to put more focus on the Fire Department.
A Fire Needs Committee was appointed in 2004 to take a closer look at the department’s building, equipment, personnel and policies. In the committee’s summary of findings, it reported “significant inefficiencies” that could be easily corrected through basic organization and delegation.
The committee recommended that the fire chief assign a group to review and rewrite bylaws and regulations to conform to state standards. The Dunstable Fire Department was also told to pursue an aggressive training program to bring the entire volunteer force in line with state training requirements and keep skills up to date.
The report also suggested keeping training records on every firefighter, as well as records on equipment.
According to Mikol, “nothing was ever done” to meet the committee’s recommendations.
The age of some firefighters was another concern.
“There is an age issue in that several of the members are over 70 and the current insurance will not cover them if they were to be injured on call,” stated the committee in its report.
It was also suggested that the fire chief be put on a 20-hour a week salary to ensure he had the time available to run the department as needed, including conducting regular staff meetings.
Chief Bacon, 75, has been Dunstable’s fire chief since 1970. Under state law, a paid fire chief cannot work past 65.
Bacon declined to comment on any of the issues.
Mikol said two out of the department’s 25 volunteers are over 80. But recruiting new volunteers is tough because “people today are not interested in putting on turnout gear in a snowstorm and going to fight a fire” without getting paid.
“I don’t believe this is the chief’s issue,” Mikol said. “This is an issue for the town of Dunstable. At the end of the day, the Fire Department’s needs have been long overdue. The town needs to rally and support changes in the department.”