Caitlin Dee
The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
(TNS)

SALISBURY — The popular longtime tradition of the Fireman’s Muster is returning on Sept. 21, offering locals the chance to engage in unique, historic fun.

The event will be held on Elm Street and is a part of Salisbury Days, a weekend’s worth of activities celebrating the town.

The tradition of Salisbury hosting a fireman’s muster first began in the late 1800s according to Jim Moghabghab, former president of the Salisbury Historical Society.

Moghabghab said the event was first held on the beach and has moved a number of times to locations like Broadway before eventually landing at Elm Street where it has remained the past few years.

The fireman’s muster involves a group of individuals pumping water out of hand tub to see whose stream goes the furthest.

A hand tub is defined as “a fire-fighting apparatus consisting of an often tub-shaped reservoir of water pumped out through a hose by means of a pump with brakes that are rocked up and down by a number of persons on each side of the apparatus,” according to Merriam Webster.

While the hand tubs have not been used to fight fires for many years, they are still used to compete in the muster.

“So, many years ago when a fire happened, they would muster up the community to come help pump these trucks, to shoot the water, to put out the fires. And, now it’s a competition,” Jenn Roketenetz, Salisbury Parks and Recreation Administrator said.

Roketenetz said she expects about 14 hand tubs will be at the event, similar to the previous year’s festivities.

While the groups participating in the event are from the New England States Veteran Fireman’s League, some are locals and many will try to drum up crowd participation.

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“There are people from Salisbury that are part of the teams, and then also they will muster up participation from the crowd,” she said.

Last year’s competition was won by “T.W. Lane,” a team from the Mystic Fire Department in Connecticut.

Roketenetz said she believes it is important to keep local history alive through events like the fireman’s muster.

“It’s part of our community story. So, every time we host an event like this or we host an open house, we’re keeping those stories alive. And, we’re also in a very immersive way sharing those stories with generations to come and that’s important,” she said.

On top of the historical significance, Roketenetz said townspeople gravitate towards the event which is a major part of the Salisbury Days festivities.

“I think people really enjoy it, and they look forward to it. It’s something different and unique to this area,” she said.

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Jack Lakowsky – The Day, New London, Conn.

East Lyme — The radios clipped to the hips of East Lyme’s first responders don’t work as they should, and the town has said it will do whatever it takes to fix the problem, a threat to the safety of police, firefighters and the public alike.

The town has formed a task force of emergency service leaders to determine short- and long-term solutions for the problem, which First Selectman Dan Cunningham called a top priority, and so far has budgeted $1.6 million to pay for any new equipment or infrastructure, Finance Director Kevin Gervais said. The group meets monthly.

That $1.6 million price, though, doesn’t include the nearly $500,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money the town previously spent on new handheld radios that completely failed. Those devices, Harris radios, now sit unused because of a software licensing issue with the vendor.

And the town has little means of recuperating that money, Cunningham said. They’re virtually unsellable without the software and legal action wouldn’t go anywhere, he said.

“The issue has been going on for years,” Cunningham told the police commission in August. “Firefighters can’t talk to police, police can’t talk to dispatch.”

Lt. Mike Macek recently told the Board of Police Commissioners that sometimes, the poorly working radios force officers to call dispatchers on their cellphones.

“This is really a very serious safety issue, if they can’t communicate effectively” Cunningham said. “It’s a very serious deficiency.”

The town has a new contract with a company that will improve existing equipment. The company, Goosetown Communications, has identified ways to double coverage, an immediate way of at least easing the issue before the town figures out how to achieve its ultimate goal, getting East Lyme’s emergency communications on a statewide system Connecticut runs.

But getting on the state system is tricky, Cunningham said. Connecticut needs a municipality’s own system to be robust and updated enough to get on the state’s without disrupting or corrupting it with bad signals.

“We can’t be an island,” Cunningham said. “It will cost money to get there, but it’s something we have to do, whatever it takes.”

Cunningham said the radios in the town’s emergency vehicles, hooked up to strong batteries, work fine.

‘I’m just shocked’

Macek told police commissioners the task force’s most immediate goal is to stabilize what the town has now, looking at current infrastructure within the emergency management building on Route 156 and at equipment still housed in the former dispatch center on Boston Post Road.

Now that the town is working with Goosetown, the state will be more open to talks with the town about getting on the state’s communication systems, Macek said.

“I think we’ve got a good path for the short-term goal for now,” Macek said.

But the long-term fix of getting on the state system is at least two years off, Macek said, even if the town bought all new equipment and upgraded local communications towers.

Commissioner Joseph Perkins said he thought the issue was fixed and asked how the issue “fell into the trash can this way.”

“I thought we had a handle on this thing,” Perkins said.

Cunningham said previous attempts at improving emergency communications failed because different departments pursued individual projects, rather than collaborate and make a single, organized effort.

“We’re organized now,&#

Ishani Desai
The Sacramento Bee
(TNS)

Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com.

The Folsom Fire Department proposed reassigning firefighters away from serving a critical fire station as questions swirl over potential cuts to city departments amid a multimillion dollar budget deficit, according to internal memos.

Folsom Fire Chief Ken Cusano presented a “strategic reassignment” to remove a fire engine from Station 38, according to a memo dated Monday obtained by The Sacramento Bee. An ambulance would remain at the station with firefighters.

Monday’s memo followed questions and claims last week that Station 38, located at 1300 Blue Ravine Road, would close by Oct. 1. “Engine 38 is placed in the middle of the city and a critical apparatus for both fire suppression and emergency medical service response,” according to the social media post, made by an account called the Folsom Firefighters Association.

The Folsom City Council has not voted on cutting city departments or reallocating resources to close a $3 million budget deficit in the upcoming months. The City Council voted to approve a $266 million budget in June, conditioned on closing the budget gap, and will have discussions in the coming weeks about potential strategies.

Cuts to Station 38 could increase fire risk and delay response times, said Dan Carson, a firefighter and paramedic who is a representative from the Sacramento Area Local 522 union for the Folsom Fire Department.

“That’s not how the system was designed,” Carson said, referring to the allocation of resources across Folsom’s six total fire stations.

The Facebook posting comes from a Sept. 2 operations bulletin, which appears to propose closing Station 38. Titled “station 38 closure,” the memo says an engine will be relocated from the station and does not list any plans for an ambulance to staff the station. It was signed by Assistant Chief of Operations Matthew McGee.

Then, over the weekend, the Folsom Firefighters Association posted about Station 38’s closure on the approximately 46,000-member Facebook group Folsom Chat.

City spokesperson Christine Brainerd said the Sept. 2 memo was “incorrect information” disseminated by fire personnel.

“Service modifications are being considered, the intent is to have fire station personnel staffed at all Folsom fire stations,” Brainerd’s statement on Monday said.

On Monday, Cusano issued a different department bulletin titled “apparatus reassignment plan” which outlined how one fire engine will be relocated away from Station 38, and a medical ambulance will be staffed by new recruits.

Monday’s memo sought to “provide clarity and eliminate any misunderstanding regarding” the operations bulletin titled “station 38 closure.” The “realignment” effective Oct. 1 attempts to reduce overtime costs as staff work to

Hamilton Township (NJ) secured another $1 million in State Budget funding dedicated to the purchase of a vital new fire apparatus, the township said recently in a press release.

It is the second time the Hamilton Township Fire Division has received such funding in two years.

This significant investment will enhance fire service capabilities and ensure the safety of the township’s 90,000 residents. This funding comes as part of ongoing efforts by the LD14 legislative team, who have been instrumental in securing resources to improve local emergency services. 

This new engine is more than just a vehicle; it is a promise of readiness and dedication to the community’s safety. The new pumper will be equipped with the latest technology, designed to improve firefighter safety and efficiency. The rig also includes significant upgrades over the older model it replaces, providing a direct benefit to community safety and service. These enhancements include improved maneuverability, firefighting capability, greater reliability, and increased safety, all while supporting the department’s effort to standardize our response fleet.

This acquisition is part of the department’s broader initiative to modernize its fleet and ensure it has the necessary tools to meet the community’s evolving needs.

Mayor Jeff Martin expressed gratitude for the support from the state representatives, highlighting the importance of the new unit in responding to emergencies effectively and efficiently. “This new engine will play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of our community,” Martin stated. “We are thankful for the continued support from our state leaders, who recognize the importance of equipping our fire division with the necessary tools to protect residents and property by assisting us with another million just two years later.”

The Hamilton Township Fire Division has been actively engaging in community outreach and emergency preparedness initiatives. The new engine will not only increase their capability for firefighting and rescue operations, but it will also provide greater peace of mind for residents knowing that their safety is a top priority. 

The Hamilton Township Fire Division looks forward to utilizing the new engine upon its arrival, further solidifying its commitment to serving and protecting the residents of Hamilton Township.

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