Brewster To Pursue Hiring New Firefighters

BREWSTER – Have hook and ladder, will travel. If so, Brewster wants you.

The town will be seeking to hire four firefighters by next year, at a cost of half a million dollars, and then four more by fiscal 2028.

Those were the recommendations in the recently completed staffing study conducted by Municipal Resources Inc. MRI also recommended Brewster add an EMS administrator. The eight extra firefighters would allow two more staffers per shift. That means the station wouldn’t be depleted if they have two simultaneous ambulance calls. Brewster used to have available call firefighters but now many firefighters/EMTs live off Cape and can’t rush in to staff an empty station.

MRI pointed out Brewster has five firefighters per shift and 2.2 firefighters per 1,000 residents. Harwich has nine firefighters per shift and 2.6 firefighters per 1,000 residents. Chatham has seven firefighters per shift and 4.7 firefighters per 1,000 residents. Orleans has eight firefighters per shift and 3.8 per 1,000 residents, while Eastham also has five firefighters per shift, which translates to 4.2 firefighters per 1,000 residents.

Hiring four firefighters in fiscal 25 would enable staffing to rise to six per shift.

“We went to town meeting and got funding for the staffing study,” Town Manager Peter Lombardi told the select board Monday. “The report was at the beginning of December. Tonight we’re looking for guidance to increase the staff by adding nine new positions in the next three to five years. They would be added in two tranches.”

After the first four firefighters, the EMS administrator could be added in fiscal 2026 and the remaining four firefighters in fiscal 2028.

“This is an issue we’ve talked about off and on for the past several years,” Lombardi said.

Since 2008 the town has added eight firefighters utilizing Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants from the federal government. The grants funded the first two years of the new hires, after which the town has to cover the full expense. The grants now cover three years of cost but are very competitive.

Brewster’s most recent pair of hires was covered by an operating override in 2019.

Including benefits, Lombardi estimated four new firefighters would cost about $500,000 a year. So a SAFER grant would be for $1.5 million over three years.

“If the school’s [rise in cost] is over 3 percent as I expect it will be (see story on page 5) we’re looking at an override again for the schools. We can’t fund these positions in house,” Lombardi said. “There isn’t sufficient funding to have four firefighters — and we need to do it all at once so we can have four shifts.”

Brewster has transitioned from primarily a call firefighter department to a full-time staff under Chief Robert Moran. That means applying for a SAFER grant as a full-time department competing with large urban cities.

“There are no call members left,” Moran said. “Recruitment and retention are impacted because we don’t have staffing. Stresses are put on the staff in the summertime. We need these positions.”

Because of the high cost of housing, hiring any firefighters on the Lower Cape has become competitive and difficult over the last decade.

“When I started here four to five years ago all firefighters had to live within six miles of the station,” Lombardi said. “We eliminated that out of necessity and 25 percent live off Cape now. That’s a significant change in who we’re able to hire and retain. This continues to be a challenge and is another disruptive element we’ve had to contend with.”

The town is looking at significant upcoming expenses as well. This spring town meeting will consider the plan for the Sea Camps, the total cost of which is projected at more than $65 million, although some items such as a community center are far in the future. Lombardi said the police department may also seek more staffing and the town will be looking to add at least one more staffer.

If the SAFER grant application fails an operating override would be needed to cover the $500,000, which wouldn’t happen until the spring of 2025. The SAFER grant application filing period opens in March and Brewster would have 30 days to file an application. The federal government’s decision would be made by December.

Moran noted his firefighters are stressed by overtime, being called back when they’re off duty after a 24-hour shift (they are then off duty for 48 hours). If there is a fire it can be difficult to have adequate personnel at the scene. The department depends on mutual aid, especially in the summer, but other nearby departments are in a similar situation.

“This affects the level of services we are able to provide and affects the firefighters on a daily basis,” he said. “We can’t reduce overtime.”

The select board voted 4-1 to support applying for the SAFER grant, and if it is unsuccessful to pursue an override. Board member Ned Chatelain cast the only dissenting vote, saying he was concerned that the town had not identified a permanent funding source for the positions.