Fire times no surprise, officials say
They are among the richest towns south of Boston.
But Hingham's Fire Department is down 11 firefighters since 1989, the station in the center of Norwell will have only one firefighter on duty during ambulance calls, and Cohasset officials doubt they can reopen two stations closed in the 1980s, even though they say the Greenbush commuter rail line, now under construction, will probably slow response times.
These towns, along with Duxbury and Scituate, have high median household incomes and fire departments with full-time staff. But they also often fail to meet national standards for fire response times, according to a Boston Globe analysis of structure fires between 1986 and 2002.
The results did not surprise some officials.
In Cohasset, where the median household income in 2004 was $112,153, firefighters responded to structure fires during the period within 6 minutes 88.2 percent of the time, just below the 90 percent passing rate recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.
Construction of the Greenbush rail line in the middle of town is supposed to be finished by late 2006. The town used to have three fire stations, but only one remains open. Without another station on the other side of the tracks, response times could suffer, officials said. Finance Director Michael Buckley said he doubts a second station would open any time soon. The reason, he said, is money.
The town's two other stations closed soon after Proposition 2½, the state's property tax-limiting law, was adopted in 1980. One station was torn down, and the other was moved to Scituate, where it is being used as a garage.
Getting more public safety resources continues to be a struggle, said Paul Bilodeau, president of the Cohasset Permanent Firefighters Local 2804.
''This town typically runs with less police and fire than other towns do," Bilodeau said. ''That's always the way it's been. I think it's like anything: The blue-collar towns are more for the blue-collar people, and the white-collar towns try to do as much as they can with less, and play the averages."
State aid is also a big factor, he said, adding that not everyone in Cohasset is wealthy. Neighboring Hull -- with a $69,769 median household income, lower property values, and a 98.8 percent response-time record from 1986 to 2002 -- stands to receive more help, Bilodeau said. The two main criteria for state aid are population and property values.
''This is something that sticks in my craw," Buckley said. ''The perception is that the Duxburys, the Cohassets, and the Scituates have all the money in the world. . . . When Cohasset spends money, it's our own money."
In Norwell, public support for the Fire Department has grown in recent years. Chief Paul Rosebach has been able to beef up his department from 12 to 20 firefighters since he took the position nine years ago.
''The town of Norwell has been very proactive," he said.
Yet the department still does not have a deputy chief, said Tom Heaney, a firefighter and president of the Norwell Firefighters Local 2700. The department has three stations, but one is manned by call firefighters.
On an ambulance call, four of five firefighters on a shift must respond and could be gone for at least an hour, leaving one person to cover the building.
One firefighter is ''really not effective," Heany said. ''It's not even close to effective. [If there is] a serious motor vehicle accident, a fire, he's going to be completely overwhelmed."
In Hingham, town and fire officials spoke positively about municipal support. Melissa Tully, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said she is optimistic the town will be able to hire four more firefighters. The additions would bump up the department's staff to 59. At April Town Meeting, the department will ask for about $180,000 in fiscal 2006 for the firefighters, who will also be qualified as paramedics.
''I've always felt that we have a very strong Fire Department," Tully said. ''They have been looking for additional people, and we are giving it to them."
Deputy Chief Mark Duff agreed that the town has been supportive. Hingham's response time was 87.3 percent between 1986 and 2002, according to the Globe analysis. Duff said that in 2004 the department had 3,485 emergency calls, up from 2,285 in 1989, when there were 66 firefighters in the department. The increase in calls sparked the request for more firefighters, he said.
Another argument that may sway Hingham's voters is that, with additional paramedics, the department will make more ambulance runs and collect more fees, Duff said. ''We're really hopeful it's going to pass."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com. 