Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

Southampton Fire Department reaching new service levels

Date: 10/17/2023

SOUTHAMPTON – Acting Fire Chief Richard Fasoli told the Selectboard last week he’s a busy man, working two jobs in a department that serviced significantly more calls this year. Nevertheless, he wants the top job permanently.

“Now that I’ve been doing it for three months I would like to be considered for the full-time position,” Fasoli said. “Being the fire chief and still having to do my deputy job, stuff is starting to back up, which isn’t good. I’d like to have time, all the projects we’ve started, to see them through to completion.”

Fasoli said he’s been working 70, 80, even 90 hours a week. Part of the deputy position, his full time job, involves lots of desk time. He hopes to promote someone else in the department to deputy to help with the paperwork, in anticipation of hiring a part-time clerk. The Briar Road resident wants to see the new station realized, a longer term goal, and in the short-term is working to complete all the annual inspections.

Fasoli still responds to emergencies. So far this year he rode out on 171 calls, including 112 medical calls and 59 fires.

The department has seen an increase of 148 calls this year, compared to last year at this time. That’s an increase in services of roughly 23 percent. Fasoli said the department responded to 764 calls this year and 616 last year, so far.

“We finished last year at 818 [calls], so this year we’ll go way past that,” Fasoli said. “This year we started tracking how many times we had to call for mutual aid when our ambulance was already out on a call. So far, we’ve had 54 times we’ve had back to back calls.”

The need for mutual aid, at times, was pronounced. Fasoli said four times there were three calls going on at the same time, when both Easthampton and Westfield were called for help. Once, four calls for service were received, so Northampton was also called for aid.

The department offered mutual aid to Easthampton, Westfield, Westhampton and Montgomery.

Down a clerk and a chief, the department has 46 staff members, 24 paramedics, 14 emergency medical technicians and eight first responders. Equipment gets used up, wears out or breaks down. Fasoli reported that while four primary vehicles are in service, including Engines 3 and 4, Engine 1 needs expensive repairs.

Fasoli said Engine 1 is 35 years old and needs work on the pump and front axle. Chief Workman, now retired, put the truck back into service at the beginning of 2023. The pump failed. A cost estimate for repairs hit $8,500. The truck is all wheel drive. Repairs to the front axle will set the town back another $5,000.
The 35 foot ladder on Engine 1 also failed, Fasoli said, though that repair is not as pressing.

“We don’t typically use the 35 foot ladder because if you have to go up that high you want to use a ladder truck,” Fasoli said. “It’s still usable, but…the tires are about 15 years old.”

Fasoli said if all the new tires needed in the department were purchased the maintenance budget would be exhausted. New Selectboard member Dan Lavalley sought more details about maintenance and capital costs. He hopes to plan an orderly response to Fire Department needs.

“That’s a conversation I’d like to have with the Selectboard, increasing the budget next year so we can get the Fire Department up to the level they should be at,” Lavalley said. “The money we put aside for maintenance…in the past few years is catching up with us.”

Selectboard Vice Chair Jon Lumbra responded to Lavalley’s concerns. Lumbra said that 1911 forms, important in the budgeting process, were hard to get from the department in the past. Lumbra also shifted the priorities to focus on grant money from the state.

“The Selectboard discovered that we’re eligible for a 95% reimbursement on a tanker, but we’ve never done anything with that,” Lumbra said. “To me, that’s priority number one. If we get that, that kind of solves Engine 1’s issues.”

Selectboard Chair Christine Fowles also commented that town voters authorized a budget override last year. That override paid for a few needs of the Police Department, but was sought by the Selectboard to address Fire Department essentials. Lumbra commented the 1911 forms offer data the Selectboard needs to go before voters, in case a request for another override is necessary.

No motions were made, no votes cast, no money earmarked at the meeting. Fasoli’s opening comments, that he wants the position of chief, was good news for the Fire Department.