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Acton Fire recognizes two off‑duty lifesaving actions and reports staffing, station-pilot changes
Summary
The Select Board honored two firefighters for off-duty lifesaving acts and heard an update on a deployment pilot that consolidated stations to create larger crews, improve training and supervision and address staffing shortages; the department plans further adjustments and paramedic training.
The Acton Select Board on Monday honored two members of the Acton Fire Department for off‑duty lifesaving interventions and received a detailed update on a multi-month staffing and station-deployment pilot.
Fire Chief Arnhem presented certificates of recognition and Isaac Davis challenge coins to Firefighter EMT Connor Caveney and Firefighter Paramedic Jonathan Chan. Chief Arnhem said Caveney intervened on Aug. 4 to prevent a person from jumping from an overpass, holding the individual with a bystander until police and EMS arrived. Chief Arnhem said Chan, off duty at a pickup basketball game on Aug. 12, initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation; the patient regained a pulse and later spoke to Chan from the hospital.
Following the recognitions, Chief Arnhem summarized a pilot program to reconfigure station staffing that began in February 2025 after the opening of the North Acton station left four stations understaffed. The department initially tested a two-station model, moved to a three-station approach in May and assigned additional staff to North and South districts so units could respond with larger, three-person engine crews and improved on-site supervision. Chief Arnhem said a three-person crew proved important in a recent apartment fire because two firefighters could enter with a charged hose while a third maintained pump operations and hydrant connections.
The chief and Deputy Chief Christopher Samet said the pilot’s goals included improving firefighter safety (noting OSHA’s ‘‘two‑in/two‑out’’ requirement), increasing training opportunities, boosting morale and aiding recruitment and retention. The department has hired 13 new employees in the past 14 months and expects at least three new paramedics to begin credentialing within about a year as EMTs attend paramedic school.
Chief Arnhem said the department continues to face challenges: cross-staffing of apparatus can leave stations temporarily unmanned when units respond elsewhere; a shortage of firefighter‑paramedics remains; and Station 3 will close temporarily in mid‑December for a tight‑tank installation, requiring a short-term adjustment to the response model. Data analysis on response times and pilot outcomes is still pending; the department indicated it will provide results to the town when available.
Select Board members thanked department leadership and members for flexibility during changes. Members asked whether the town could operate three stations long term; Chief Arnhem said the department can operate with three stations on current staffing levels but emphasized safety and capacity concerns and the need for continued staffing improvements. Deputy Chief Samet described recruiting efforts, including job fairs and sending EMTs to paramedic school to build paramedic capacity internally.
The Select Board asked staff to continue sharing data as it becomes available and to return with updates if the town must reconfigure stations during the Station 3 closure.
The Select Board also thanked the department for providing a public presentation on the pilot and for the visible increase in training activity in neighborhoods where stations now host more on-site drills.
