Yarmouth fire chief asks finance committee to back override to add firefighters, restructure command

YARMOUTH, Mass. — The Yarmouth Fire Chief told the Finance Committee on Jan. 29 that the department needs four more firefighters and changes to its command structure to keep up with a steady rise in emergency calls and growing operational strain.

The chief said the request is Phase 2 of a fiscal 2025 plan the Select Board previously approved and would move the department toward a recommended staffing level of 18 firefighters per shift. "The ambulance generates a revenue close to $2,800,000 per year," the chief said, and the town has been using that revenue to offset wages: "Right now, as of last year, there's $2,000,000 coming out of the ambulance fund every year." He warned that drawing that amount reduces money available for vehicle and equipment replacement.

Why this matters: Finance Committee members pressed the chief on recruitment, overtime, training and how ambulance transports and hospital delays reduce unit availability. The chief said the department averages about 22 calls a day and that only 25% of incidents occur in isolation —multiple concurrent calls are now the norm. He added that an average out‑of‑service time for an ambulance after a hospital call is about an hour: "Minimum, it's an hour before that ambulance gets back into service." Those factors, he said, leave fewer crews…