The Rindge Firefighters Association is pushing back against comments made by Selectman Tom Coneys at a recent meeting about the staffing model and members.
The Rindge Firefighters Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the members and families of the Fire Department, including helping to raise funds for equipment and supporting staff during large events. The association wrote the letter, signed by 16 members, including all four officers, in response to comments made at the May 28 Select Board meeting, and read and presented it to the board during the July 16 board meeting.
On May 28, the Select Board discussed the fire chief job description and configuration of the department. As part of that discussion, the board spoke about some potential adjustments to how the department is run, as Fire Chief Rickard Donovan is retiring from the position at the end of the year. Coneys made several suggestions during that discussion, including separating the Building Department and Fire Department, and having the Fire Department focus strictly on emergency services and fire safety inspections.
Under Coneys’ suggested model, the fire chief would remain full-time, and the Building Department duties would be removed from the job description. Coneys also suggested that in addition to the chief, there be a part-time building inspector and a part-time secretary to support the department, with the remaining positions being per-diem.
When discussing the coverage at the station, Coneys said, “We have a full-time staff, basically now. There’s three people sitting at that station, per diem. Right now, we have three people sitting there, plus the chief. The staffing is pretty expensive, basically.”
The letter argues that Coneys’ comments were a mischaracterization of how the department is run. The department operates with a full-time fire chief who also functions as the emergency management director and building inspector, a full-time deputy chief who is also the Building Department administrator, a full-time captain/fire prevention/EMT position that is currently vacant, a part-time Advanced EMT/data entry clerk and per-diem firefighters/EMTs, with approximately 15 on-call members.
From Monday through Friday, the full-time staff are in the station, with two per-diem employees in the station on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to the letter.
“The spread of misinformation is both irresponsible and dangerous. Efforts to dismantle our current staffing model, which is already behind where it should be, will place lives, property and the environment of Rindge at greater risk,” the letter reads.
The letter argues that the town’s call volume supports the amount of staffing the town has.
“Daytime per-diem or full-time staffing is standard for towns of Rindge’s size and call volume,” the letter reads. “Comparable departments in similar communities support this model. Despite this, Selectman Coneys has advocated for a rollback to a fully on-call department with only one full-time position — the Fire Chief. This would severely degrade service, put the town further out of compliance with NFPA 1720 standards and jeopardize public safety.”
The letter suggests that eliminating positions would put the town on the back foot when it comes to response capabilities, and comes at a time when on-call membership is already declining while call demand is rising.
The letter also took issue with how Coneys had described the contributions of its full-time members, referring to one as a secretary, though she is an Advanced EMT who assists during wildland and exterior firefighting as well as doing data entry, inventory tracking, permitting, CPR training and administrative tasks. The letter also states that he suggested another member, despite being an EMT, does not regularly respond to calls due to “mobility issues,” even though she is a senior officer responsible for licensing and training and is involved in emergency response, including command roles at incidents.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.