Acton Fire Chief Anita Arnhem and town staff announced a pilot program to consolidate fire-department staffing and apparatus into two roughly equal districts for a three- to four-month trial, starting in February.

Under the proposed pilot, the south district would be staffed with an engine, an ambulance and a ladder truck; the north district would be staffed with an engine, an ambulance and a brush truck. The plan aims to create stations with five to six personnel available for training and response, rather than the current pattern of two-person staffing at several stations.

Chief Arnhem said the change is intended to improve firefighter safety, training opportunities, supervision and morale as the department adapts to a fully professional force and a tight regional paramedic labor market. "Newly hired firefighter paramedics are often assigned together at station 1 and they are left on their own during the shift with limited oversight," she said, describing the benefits of larger on-site staff for mentoring and training.

The town used a state grant to contract the Collins Center for assistance in designing, monitoring and evaluating the pilot; Collins Center staff will help the department define metrics to judge the program’s safety and operational effects. Chief Arnhem and the town manager said the department and its union leadership have been working cooperatively on the pilot’s design.

The pilot will be closely monitored and can be modified or ended early if the town determines it is not meeting safety or service objectives. Town Manager John Mandurite said the pilot’s performance measures will include response-time data and NFPA consensus recommendations for staffing and response.

The Select Board expressed support for the pilot and for the department’s emphasis on morale and safety; members asked the town to circulate the pilot plan to the public and said they expected regular updates.

Next steps: staff will post pilot details on the town website, install informational signage at fire stations, publish metrics and start the pilot in February pending final operational preparations.