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Draft report urges staffing increases, new Oswegatchie station and retooling Waterford fire services for broader emergency response
Summary
Draft #2 of the Fire Services Review committee report recommends staffing three stations full-time (Jordan, Oswegatchie, Cohanzie), building a new Oswegatchie station, pursuing SAFER grants, modernizing fleet management, and rebranding toward an Emergency Services model to reflect heavy EMS demand.
The Fire Services Review Special Committee's Draft #2 (distributed July 9, 2025) recommends a multi-year strategic shift for Waterford’s fire services, emphasizing additional paid staffing, a new Oswegatchie station, fleet realignment, and a broader move toward an Emergency Services or Fire & Rescue model.
Key recommendations include staffing three stations with full‑time career firefighters (Jordan, Oswegatchie, Cohanzie) while maintaining part‑time/volunteer coverage at Quaker Hill and Goshen. The draft cites a target operational model of 10 career firefighters on duty at all times (requiring roughly 30 total career firefighters on a 24/48 schedule) and recommends revisiting staffing every three years. The previous Director’s staffing chart in the draft proposes phased hiring to approach that running total; the committee flagged the running-total math for clarification.
The report restates a 2023 interim recommendation to replace the Oswegatchie station, describing it as in "extensively deteriorated condition." It presents a project‑level cost comparison provided by the construction manager: renovation estimated at $9.2 million versus a new building at $10.4 million, with a warning that delaying construction could raise the cost to $15–20 million within 7–10 years. The RTM previously created an Oswegatchie Building Committee; the draft recommends proceeding with a replacement as fiscally prudent.
The draft also addresses equipment and fleet management: it inventories about 26 emergency vehicles, recommends continuing use of Fleetio software for maintenance tracking, and suggests exploring greater use of Public Works mechanics for standard maintenance and shared procurement to control costs.
On volunteers, Director Chris Haley told the committee the department’s working definition of an "active volunteer" had effectively been counting one response per year; the draft and attached comments noted a discrepancy with the volunteer incentive program (VIP), which documentation listed a 50‑incident minimum for stipend eligibility. Haley proposed revising the VIP and the "active" definition to more accurately reflect practical support and to add non‑response qualifying activities such as shift coverage.
The report emphasizes that EMS and medical calls now dominate demand—roughly 70% of responses—while structural fires represent about 2%—and recommends the town consider rebranding to better align training, equipment and recruiting with that workload. It also urges the town to prepare for the pending OSHA "Emergency Response" rule revisions and to continue pursuing SAFER grants to offset hiring costs.
The committee voted to forward the draft to the RTM for review; the report remains labeled "Draft" until the RTM acts. The draft and appended materials will inform RTM deliberations on capital planning, staffing and the Oswegatchie replacement.
