24/7 Fire Coverage - Question

This posting is in response to a comment left here a few days ago….

 

Over the last 20 years, structure fires have decreased across the United States and in Goffstown.  However EMS calls have nearly tripled during the same period.

A fire department handles many other duties including response to car accidents, dealing with hazardous materials, natural disasters, fire prevention, and increased training standards.  I believe the need for 24/7 is driven by a couple of factors.  The demands and training requirements of a call firefighter are increasing and this has resulted in less citizen involvement.  We have no guarantees that call firefighters can and will respond to our needs.  Since we cannot predict when fires and medical emergencies will occur, a 24/7 Fire Department gives our community a greater sense of security and predictability in terms of response times.  Also, since the new 24/7 staffing model calls for dual purpose firefighter/EMT personnel, the fire department can respond a variety of different needs at the same time.  The costs have been researched by the 24/7 Study Committee comprised of members from our community, and verified by our Town Finance Department.  That said, we will have a new interim fire chief who will be given the opportunity to review staffing, schedules, apparatus, stations and operating costs.  It is my opinion that if we consolidate fire stations and apparatus, we will save a great deal of money that will offset the costs of 24/7 fire protection. 

 

I’m glad you brought this question up; a lot of people have questions about it.