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Fire Chief Bruce Dixon says Bolton volunteers handled 151 calls; seeks software upgrade and new boat
Summary
At the Sept. 28 Bolton Fire Commission meeting, Fire Chief Bruce Dixon reported 151 emergency responses over two months (74 during Tropical Storm Isaias), outlined equipment and capital requests including a new boat, and said migration to a new Firehouse/ESO reporting platform will likely wait until July 2021 pending Selectmen budget approval.
Fire Chief Bruce Dixon told the Bolton Fire Commission on Sept. 28 that the Bolton Volunteer Fire Department responded to 151 emergencies over the previous two months, including 74 calls during Tropical Storm Isaias.
Dixon said the department played a major mutual-aid role at a large house fire in Andover, providing water-supply coordination for eight towns. He described the operational response as using Bolton Truck 134 to attack the fire and Bolton Tanker 234 to shuttle multiple loads of water into the scene. He also noted the department handled numerous motor-vehicle accidents, three water-rescue calls and three medical calls that required CPR.
The chief reported several equipment and capital items on the department’s near-term list. He said multiple sets of turnout gear are on order under the department’s ongoing program to provide two full sets of gear to each active firefighter. Dixon added the department has placed a purchase-order request for a new boat under Bolton’s capital investment program.
Dixon also briefed the commission on planned changes to the department’s reporting software. He said the Fire Marshal’s Office and the department have been in discussions with ESO, parent company of Firehouse, which is discontinuing support for the current state reporting setup and offering an upgraded platform with incident reporting, personnel and training modules. Dixon said the department does not expect to migrate until July 2021 because the upgrade will increase costs that must be presented to the Selectmen for consideration in the FY21‑22 budget.
On operations and community outreach, Dixon said he and Deputy Chief Eremita continue to attend town Unified Command meetings about COVID‑19 and its effects on department operations. He reported he reviewed revised fire-drill plans at Bolton Center School and Bolton High School and described a virtual 9/11 ceremony produced with local partners; the ceremony is available on demand via the Community Voice Channel.
Dixon announced the installation of a new electronic sign at the firehouse, funded by local donations. He thanked Deputy Chief Eremita for engineering and construction assistance and the town highway department for building the sign base. The minutes note that no money from the department’s budget was used to install the sign.
The commission took no formal votes on the capital items at the Sept. 28 meeting; Dixon indicated the software migration and capital requests will require Selectmen review as part of the next budget cycle. The commission scheduled its next regular meeting for Oct. 26, 2020.
