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Acton to keep testing fire station pilot; winter plan would return some crews to center
Summary
Town Manager John Mandry and the finance committee discussed a pilot that has reorganized fire coverage into north and south stations; town staff said response data do not show problematic impacts and that this winter crews will be repositioned to run three stations while West Acton systems are replaced.
The Town of Acton’s pilot program to reorganize firehouse staffing into north and south zones drew questions from Finance Committee members, but town officials said preliminary data show no concerning change in emergency response and outlined a winter plan that will return some crews to the central station temporarily.
John Mandry, the town manager, said the new North Acton station addressed a “significant need” because most calls occur along Great Road and north of Route 2. The pilot initially operated out of two larger stations — north and south — and later adjusted staffing so the South and West coverage areas were split to improve space and deployment. “At the beginning of the pilot, we said, okay, we’re going to put all the people in the North Station and the South Station. That worked out really well,” Mandry said. He added that South Station “hasn’t had more than 2 people in it, probably ever,” so operating with larger crews there was space‑constrained.
Mandry told the committee the pilot’s operations and response data so far show no performance problems the town is “concerned with.” He said the town expects to do a winter operations shift: replacing major systems at the West Acton Fire Station will require moving that crew back to the center building and running three stations again for a period while the work is done.
Finance Committee members raised concerns about coverage if the central station is staffed less often and suggested alternatives such as keeping additional ambulances in the center of town. Mandry said the fire chief will decide ambulance deployment based on operational data; the pilot has already tested variants of station deployment to find workable coverage patterns.
Committee members also asked whether leasing or repurposing the West Acton station had been discussed with neighboring towns; Mandry said no formal plan to deem the building surplus has been advanced and so leasing options are not currently on the table.
Why it matters: Changes to firehouse deployment affect response times and the town’s capital and operating plans for station maintenance and replacement. The pilot and the town’s winter reconfiguration will be used to evaluate future capital decisions about station upgrades or new construction.
No formal decisions about permanent station closures or new construction were made during the meeting.
