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To the editor:
A recent article highlighting the amount of overtime earned by firefighters understandably caught the public’s attention. What was largely missing from that discussion, however, was the context behind why that overtime exists in the first place.
The fire department is currently operating amid significant staffing shortages. In the past year alone, three firefighters were diagnosed with cancer. Two others are on military leave serving our country. These are not discretionary absences, nor are they short-term inconveniences—they are realities that any community relying on its emergency services must acknowledge and plan for.
Much of the overtime referenced in the article is not voluntary. It is forced overtime, mandated simply to ensure that minimum staffing levels are met so emergency calls can be answered. Firefighters are not working extra shifts for financial gain, but because there are not enough personnel available to safely staff apparatus and respond to emergencies.
Even when trucks are considered “fully staffed,” staffing levels still fall below National Fire Protection Association recommended minimums. In other words, firefighters are being asked to operate with fewer personnel than national safety standards advise, even on a good day. This reality further underscores that the issue is not excessive overtime, but insufficient staffing.
It is also worth noting that these staffing challenges exist alongside rising healthcare costs and continued uncertainty in the town’s budget. At the same time, the town has added numerous new municipal positions over the past several years. That reality raises a reasonable question: why has full staffing of the fire department not been treated as a similar priority?
Overtime is often framed as a problem of spending, but in this case it is a symptom, not the cause. A review of staffing levels may help reduce the reliance on forced overtime, improve firefighter health and safety, and ultimately provide more reliable service to residents.
Public safety deserves a complete and honest conversation—one that includes not just payroll figures, but the medical, operational and human factors driving them. Without that context, the public is left with an incomplete picture of a much more complex issue.
Mark Tentindo
Dartmouth Road
