Fall River firefighters and chief signal shortfalls in budget, equipment and stations

Michael O'Regan, president of Local 13/14, told the Fall River City Council Committee on Finance on June 4 that the proposed fiscal 2026 budget will leave the Fire Department underfunded and put residents and firefighters at risk. “The people of the city deserve a fire department that is fully staffed, fully equipped, and properly funded,” O’Regan said during the citizen input period.

O’Regan gave specific examples he said illustrated maintenance failures: frontline reserve apparatus that broke down during a January 2022 blizzard and again on May 19, 2025; ladder apparatus with hydraulic failures; and station buildings he described as infested with cockroaches, rats and mice, with asbestos, crumbling floors, mold and raw sewage in basements. He named Stanley Street, the Center station (Bedford Street), the Flint station and the Globe station among those with long‑standing problems.

Those statements set the tone for a lengthy budget review in which Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said he is “not happy with the budget” as proposed and said it leaves capital needs insufficiently addressed. Bacon said the department has begun the process to replace an engine and that procurement and funding will use capital mechanisms outside the operating line item, but he reiterated the lack of a reliable, long‑term capital plan. “We have to rebuild the capital plan,” Bacon said, adding that manufacturers’ lead times and rising prices complicate purchasing: custom pumpers can take about three years to deliver; non‑custom stock trucks arrive faster, but choices are limited.

Councilors pressed for clarity about where capital funding would come from and asked Bacon and Interim Director of Finance Emily Arpke for a clear timeline and funding sources. Arpke told councilors that some requested one‑time purchases had been discussed as funded from surplus or debt rather than from the general operating line, and that the city planned to rebuild a multi‑year capital plan this fall. Councilors repeatedly asked for an itemized capital commitment for fiscal 2026 and for documentation on pending capital projects and work orders.

The committee and staff discussed staffing and grant options. Bacon said the department was near 199 full‑time positions during fiscal 2024 but that the proposed budget reflected lower budgeted headcount (about 187.5 budgeted for FY25–26). He said the department needs roughly 200 firefighters to operate without excessive overtime. The committee and the chief discussed the SAFER federal staffing grant: Bacon described it as a three‑year program that usually requires local matching (this year’s SAFER round included a 25% match in year one, 25% in year two and 65% in year three) and said the grant’s design generally intends recipients to retain positions after grant funding ends.

Bacon and councilors also discussed maintenance and repair practice. Preventive maintenance and parts and accessories are budgeted in separate lines; Bacon said many routine repairs are done in the department’s shop and that the department recently signed an agreement with a regional repair shop to reduce hourly costs. He said some major repairs must go out to vendors because of warranty or technical reasons. Councilors asked for the repair‑shop work order log and pest‑control inspection reports for stations; Bacon said those reports are available and would be provided to the council.

Why this matters: city councilors said the committee needs to reconcile operating choices, capital planning and staffing to avoid recurring emergency repairs and service gaps. O’Regan argued the current proposals amount to cuts in real terms, saying, “we are continually asked to do more with less, and we do until we can’t.” Bacon urged a coordinated capital plan and clearer funding commitments so apparatus and station repairs are not deferred.

The committee did not adopt final budget votes for the fire department at this meeting. Councilors asked staff to return with a clearer capital plan, supporting documentation (work orders, pest reports, grant and procurement status) and a clearer explanation of how one‑time funds or debt would be used to acquire apparatus and complete station repairs in fiscal 2026.