Town Officials Question If Westport Can Afford Federal Fire Grant

Members of three town government bodies met Thursday night to learn the details of a $1.2 million federal grant the Fire Department has been awarded to hire additional firefighters.

The presentation began with First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff describing the current understaffing of the town's fire engine companies as "insane" and "highly dangerous."

Members of the Board of Finance, and of the Representative Town Meeting's Finance and Public Protection Committees, were told by Fire Chief Christopher Ackley that two of the town's four engine companies are staffed by only two firefighters.

The other two companies have three, Ackley said, and "three's where we need to be" on all companies. He said Westport has the lowest manning of fire apparatus in Fairfield County.

Undermanning companies violates federal occupational safety regulations, Ackley said, and results in people getting hurt and additional fire damage.

Ackley noted the irony that when a Westport engine company responds to a mutual aid request from a surrounding town, four firefighters are assigned, meaning the department provides a larger assignment to calls in other towns than in its own territory.

Ackley also said larger homes are being constructed in Westport and, "we don't know where the bedrooms are."

The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would cover the cost of hiring eight firefighters for two years, while committing the town to fund their employment for a third year.

Know as a SAFER Act grant – from the 2004 "Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act" – Westport also would be required to continue employing the same number of firefighters it has when the grant goes into effect for two years.

Committing to the grant's requirements triggered a lengthy discussion by the group over what the town's long-term costs could be, particularly because the town's current retirement benefit plans have been described as untenable into the future.

"The pension programs as they exist are unsustainable," Joseloff said.

Ackley said that of the 29 applications submitted to FEMA from Connecticut fire departments, Westport received the largest award, followed by Willimantic and New London.

This is the "coup de grace," Ackley said.

Ackley said it would cost the town $6,000 to send each of eight firefighter recruits to the state's Fire Academy, plus $2,600 apiece for their turnout gear.

The meeting's participants asked finance director John Kondub to project what it would cost to provide benefits to eight additional firefighters over the next five years.

The Board of Finance will discuss the implications of the grant at its July 7 meeting. However, Joseloff said he would not formally present the grant to the board for its approval.

Joseloff said he would present the grant to the RTM for a vote of approval at its July 20 meeting, as, in effect, a labor contract. He said he would consider the outcome of the vote advisory to his decision whether to accept the award.

A June 2009 report from the Congressional Research Service said the Obama administration proposed granting $420 million in SAFER grants for fiscal year 2010.