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Middletown fire chief reports staffing strain, requests $5 million bond and $90,000 in sonar/boat gear
Summary
At the April 28 Middletown Public Safety Commission meeting, Fire Chief Albert detailed staffing and equipment strains — including a delayed entry-level test and 244 applicants — and said he submitted a $5 million Urban Act bond request for a new training building and asked for roughly $90,000 for a shallow-water boat and sonar to improve river rescues.
MIDDLETOWN — Fire Chief Albert told the Middletown Public Safety Commission on April 28 that his department faces staffing and equipment pressures even as it prepares for expanded training and regional response roles.
Albert opened his monthly report by saying the department logged 321 calls during the reporting period and described responding to a large house fire in Portland in which “that family did lose their entire home, their pets.” He said a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family and called the incident “devastating.”
The chief highlighted recruitment progress and a logistical hurdle: “Our entry level firefighter application opened and closed. We had 244 applicants,” he said, then added that the qualifying test has been delayed because “the test is now over $2,000 for HR to buy the booklets,” a cost that exceeds the department’s single-purchase card limit and is slowing the testing schedule.
Why it matters: the delay holds up filling vacancies and getting recruits into the academy, Albert said, adding he may personally pay part of the cost to move testing forward.
Training and exercises featured prominently. Albert described the department’s first-ever joint live burns with neighboring departments and a two-day active-shooter drill that included transporting simulated patients to Middlesex Hospital. “Any large scale incident like that, you expect to identify things that you need to work on,” he said, and the department plans to present a video and after-action notes at a future meeting.
Operational pressures and budget impacts
Albert told commissioners that overtime has “picked up exponentially” because of long-term light-duty assignments, military deployments and two upcoming FMLA cases. He said the state’s new paid mental-health leave for first responders is a valuable benefit but was rolled out mid-budget cycle and was not budgeted for; as a result, he said he will likely seek an appropriation to cover overtime.
Apparatus, facilities and capital requests
Albert reported maintenance issues with frontline apparatus — Truck 1 was out of service for about a month after a head gasket failure that cost roughly $11,000 — and warned vehicle replacement costs have risen sharply. He said Engine 3’s planned replacement (a project exceeding $1 million) would require a referendum, so that purchase is on hold.
On facilities, Albert said he submitted an Urban Act bond request that morning seeking $5,000,000 for a training building on Newfield Street; his preliminary estimates put the project at $5–$6 million and include three double-length apparatus bays. He said he is pursuing funding options with city and state officials and noted a state senator has advocated for the request. “We are requesting $5,000,000,” Albert said.
Improving water rescue capability
Albert described limits of the department’s current marine unit — it cannot operate effectively in shallow water and must be stored for winter — and said the department requested two assets (a smaller shallow-water boat plus a sonar system) costing about $90,000 total. He cited state police sonar performance as an example: when comparable equipment was deployed, “they’ve been pretty much been able to pinpoint stuff within 5, 10, 15 minutes of them deploying.” Albert said improved sonar and a shallow-water craft would reduce risk to divers and speed recoveries in fast-moving river conditions.
Regionalization and potential outside funding
Albert said a representative from a statewide regional response group asked whether Middletown’s dive team is regional; because the team responds widely across the region, the representative will explore state funding that could offset training and overtime costs if the team is formally recognized as a regional asset.
Formal actions and next steps
The commission approved the minutes of the March 24 meeting earlier in the session. After hearing the chief’s report and reopening the public portion (no members of the public spoke), commissioners moved and seconded a motion to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Albert said he will provide updates on recruitment testing, the Urban Act bond request and any progress on sonar/boat funding at the next commission meeting.
