Brockton Fire Chief credits staffing, new apparatus for faster response times and fewer large fires

Fire Chief Ryan Odelli told the finance committee that a multiyear push to increase staffing and place additional apparatus into service has reduced the city’s average response time and helped prevent large, multi‑alarm incidents.

"Our multiple alarm fires are down by 64%... Because of that commitment to staffing, you have allowed us to put a piece of apparatus in service that has allowed us to fill holes where they weren't before," Odelli said, adding that working fires are up 52% while multiple‑alarm fires fell and that fire deaths over the last six years fell to one from six in the prior comparable period.

The chief described recruitment actions — open houses, a junior firefighter academy and a culture that attracts lateral transfers — that have helped increase applicant numbers. He noted an average response‑time improvement from five minutes to four minutes between FY25 and FY26, helped by a new public‑safety building and upgraded traffic signal priority measures.

Councilors asked about outliers and readjusting station placements. Odelli identified the northwest corridor (North Pearl Street/Oak Street Extension) as a persistent six‑minute outlier and said the long‑term remedy is an additional staffed firehouse in that area; he said the administration has discussed the idea with the mayor but that it would be a significant investment.

Councilors praised the department’s results but pressed for ongoing transparency on staffing and cost implications of further expansion. Odelli said he will continue recruitment activities and flagged an upcoming youth academy graduation as a local recruitment pipeline.