Rachel Barber
Daily Item, Lynn, Mass.
(TNS)
SAUGUS — Though conversations surrounding the construction of a third fire station date back to as early as 1965, the town is the “closest it has ever been” to achieving that goal, according to Saugus Fire Capt. Bill Cross.
Following decades of population, and commercial and developmental growth, town leaders and outside consultants agree that there is a definitive need for a new fire station in the western part of Saugus. Using data from 2015 to 2019, consultants from Municipal Resources Inc. assessed the overall efficiency of the town’s fire, rescue, emergency medical services, and delivery systems. Municipal Resources Inc. published the study in March 2021 and formally recommended Saugus move forward with the process of designing, financing, and constructing a new fire and EMS station in the area of town west of Route 1.
“We have to keep up with all the development in Saugus,” Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano said. “With thousands of apartments being built in the next few years, it’s going to be absolutely necessary to build that station.”
The 2021 report found that while 50 to 60 percent of Saugus is within a four-minute drive from the closest fire station, over 38 percent of Saugus Fire Department responses take longer than the recommended total response time, which is six minutes. The primary areas outside of the recommended four-minute drive time are those west of Route 1, and in North Saugus, mostly north of Walnut Street.
The construction of a third station would seek to remedy this disparity and would also decrease the overall average response time in Saugus, according to the report.
Cross, who also serves as union president of Saugus Firefighters Local 1003, said response times to areas like the Golden Hills are even lower than the 2021 report found. Response times to that area average around 10 to 12 minutes, which is also lower than the National Fire Protection Association’s nine-minute and 20-second standard, he said.
“[The consultant] did his response times during the pandemic when he didn’t get a true picture of what it’s like,” Cross said. “When there’s Route 1 traffic and schools letting out — maybe there’s Christmas traffic too and then you throw in a snow storm — it’s really not that easy to get around.”
The 2021 report stressed, however, that citizens of Saugus should feel confident that the Saugus Fire Department is still able to act as a professional and capable public safety organization thanks to the dedication of its members. Cross said his first responsibility as union president is to keep his firefighters safe and that there is an increased danger that accompanies longer response times.
“The guys that work here do a lot with not enough,” Cross said. “The fires of today make it a different job than it was 30 years ago so response times become more and more critical for us every day.”
Cross explained that his union leveraged a ballot question about the construction of a third station in the 2000s that Saugus voters ultimately did not pass. He attributed its failure to the fact that voters had to flip the ballot over to see the question and many did not, as well as concerns that Saugus would hire an unnecessary amount of firefighters.
However, the 2021 report determined that the Saugus Fire Department should employ, at minimum, one lieutenant and two firefighters in addition to an engine or quint fire truck at a third station.
Cross said while