Surely, a clean, safe central fire station that meets modern standards is not too much to ask for.
The too-small and deteriorating condition of our historic, circa 1929, Amherst Central Fire Station is threatening the well-being of our community. We keep asking and expecting more than what this tired 92-year-old iconic fire house can give. It is at the end of its life cycle and is being held together with band-aids. There is no automatic sprinkler system, the ceilings and walls are crumbling, and running water in the sinks tests positive for lead.
Our downtown fire station houses our Fire Department’s administrative headquarters, fire trucks, ambulances and a crew of firefighters working 24-hour shifts, overseeing fire, rescue and emergency medical services protection across our community. We are fortunate to have these brave and skilled firefighters there for us 24/7, especially during the pandemic, and they should not be subjected to these poor working conditions.
Based on the most recent “Amherst Fire Headquarters Study,” from April of 2018, and from the town assessor’s records, the last major repair to the Central Station was replacement of roof shingles in 2012. There was no remedial work on the water-soaked interior walls. This let mold fester near where our exhausted firefighters take refuge, in an area also permeated with diesel fumes from the fire trucks garaged in bays beneath, jeopardizing their health.
We can no longer rely on this outdated structure to support what we require of our Amherst Fire Department, and what a 21st century fire department must be equipped with to protect both its firefighters and citizenry.
For far too many years, our fire chief and firefighters have pleaded for a new station — for decades more than the Jones Library trustees have been considering a much-desired, but inessential, expansion.
It is poor planning by the town to keep delaying and kicking the can down the road. By putting off the construction of a new fire station, our town administrators are gambling with our lives. Our Central Fire Station is too small, and its building footprint will never be sufficient to accommodate the lifesaving equipment needed to keep pace with downtown development or high-rises on campus.
Most dire, this station is well beyond capacity, and it is too small to house another six-to-eighth firefighters per 24 hours, the required number for protecting a community of this size and for fully staffing each fire truck and ambulance, at all times. (Carlson Group study from 2017)
In frustration, an Amherst firefighter recently reacted by saying, “The town’s just pushing its luck. We always need four firefighters on a fire truck. Otherwise, people or fires will have to wait. I can be a firefighter and paramedic at the same time, but I can’t actually do more than one call at the same time.”
Amherst has a total of only 45 firefighters. Not counting our fire chief and two assistant chiefs, this breaks down to a ratio of approximately 1.12 firefighters per 1,000 Amherst residents. The staffing ratio in Northampton is more than twice that of Amherst: 2.46 firefighters to every 1,000 residents. It has been reported that Amherst has one of the lowest ratios of firefighters to residents in the commonwealth — so low, that it is deemed to be a risk to public safety. Our safety.
To Amherst’s shame, even the lifesaving equipment that fits into our Central Fire Station is not always up to par. Recently, the Amherst IAFF Local 1764 reported that only two of the town’s four ambulances were operational for serving Amherst and mutual aid calls to Leverett and Shutesbury. How terrifying to call 911 when a loved one’s life is at stake, only to have a mechanical malfunction delay vital medical services.
I know this firsthand. It happened not long ago to my family. My husband had suffered what might have been a fatal episode. The firefighters responded quickly, but had to abort transporting my husband to the hospital after discovering that their stretcher was broken. For another 20 minutes at least, we endured the suspense and fear until a second ambulance could arrive to safely transport him. We were fortunate that this delay did not cause him further harm, or worse, was sheer Providence. The next Amherst resident who calls 911 might not be so lucky.
With high-rise buildings sprouting up on the UMass campus and in downtown Amherst, and with our population burgeoning and aging, we can no longer afford to delay funding for building a new fire station. This is a desperate, urgent, lifesaving need — not a wish hoping to be fulfilled someday. It is the difference between life and death.
Bonnie MacCracken is a 40-year resident of Amherst; a former local business owner, now federal employee; a granddaughter of a former career firefighter (now deceased) of the Fitchburg Fire Department; and the proud mother of a dedicated firefighter/paramedic.