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Acton fire chief reports staffing gains, ambulance repair and asks board to back training-building door replacement
Summary
Fire Chief Wayne Ham told the Select Board the department hired a new firefighter, is managing summer staffing despite challenges, the ambulance is in for repairs and the board approved a $2,200 contract to replace a training-building door. Ham also flagged a county CAD dispatch upgrade with a July 15 demo.
Fire Chief Wayne Ham updated the Town of Acton Select Board on staffing, equipment and dispatch issues at the board’s July 9 meeting. He said the department has hired Brandon Ouellette for an open position and thanked the board for moving his recommendation for a replacement ambulance forward; he added that summer staffing can still be challenging.
Ham reported the department’s ambulance is currently at McFarland Ford for repairs — including new tires and a front-end ball joint — after a handling issue in transit. While the vehicle is out of service, mutual aid has been instituted. He and board members discussed whether the department should adopt a more frequent maintenance schedule for vehicles.
Ham requested permission to replace the walk-in door and framing at the Training Building and presented a quote of $2,200 (stair repairs were listed in the quote but deferred). Denekamp moved to award ProFinish Construction the work, contingent on required paperwork; Winchell seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Ham also told the board that Acton uses Sanford Regional Communications for dispatching and that the dispatch CAD (computer-aided dispatch) software in use is roughly 30 years old. He said the county is planning a Motorola CAD replacement, and a demonstration and financial overview are scheduled for July 15; Ham said the county will disclose the cost share at that time and asked that an administrative representative or IT staff attend the demo. McGurty suggested obtaining a written summary of why the county selected the product.
The board took the door-repair vote during the meeting; other items discussed (including ambulance replacement and command-vehicle timing) were left for warrant language and future votes.
