Mass. chief hopes grant can rehire 5 firefighters

By Kaitlin Keane
The Patriot Ledger

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Town officials are hoping to secure a federal grant that would help alleviate understaffing in the Weymouth Fire Department.

Fire Chief Robert Leary applied for the grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, asking for $971,158 to hire back five firefighters who were let go in June.

The elimination of the five positions, meant to help bridge a $1.2 million budget gap, exacerbated understaffing that resulted from years of cuts, Leary said.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant would pay for the five positions for two years. The town would be responsible for the firefighters' salaries and benefits after those years.

The grant program is intended to increase the number of trained firefighters in fire departments and help communities meet staffing, response and operational standards.

In 2009, 11 departments in Massachusetts received more than $18 million in SAFER funds. The Plymouth Fire Department received $627,000 and the Fall River Department received $10.8 million.

Weymouth has applied for SAFER money before, without success, but Leary hopes the current staffing situation is bad enough to help the town's chances.

"The last time we were this low was in 1993, following a three-year period of no hiring after the last recession," Leary said.

In talking about the need for more firefighters, the chief pointed to two fires that occurred in Weymouth this week.

Firefighter Kevin Connolly, president of Local 1616 of the International Association of Firefighters, recently told town officials that Weymouth, a town of 55,000 people, has 13 firefighters manning two fire engines and a ladder truck on a typical shift.

Connolly called the numbers "a huge disparity" from other departments in the area.

He said Quincy, with about 88,000 residents, has at least 25 firefighters, eight engines and three ladder trucks on a typical shift.

Leary expects to hear about the fate of the grant application within three months. He said firefighters are "hopeful" that financial help is coming.

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