HADLEY — As the Hadley Fire Department nears full staffing, various changes are being made to how it responds to some calls that should reduce the call volume, cut costs and streamline operations.
Interim Fire Chief Robert Flaherty told the Select Board at its Oct. 7 meeting that firefighters will no longer be responding to routine medical calls at medical facilities and will be scaling back responses to both mental health calls and some motor vehicle collisions.
The idea behind these changes, Flaherty said, is to prioritize the work of firefighter/ EMTs and lessen the wear and tear on fire trucks and other department vehicles.
While often making a fire response to medical facilities for medical calls, Flaherty said doctors and licensed nurse practitioners on site don’t usually need the extra help, and firefighter/ EMTs are not providing any higher level of care before Action EMS, the town’s ambulance provider, gets there.
A similar reduction will come in response to mental health calls, where the Action ambulance crews will handle the work on their own.
For motor vehicle crashes, if there is no damage and no injuries, such as fender benders
in shopping center parking lots, there will no longer be an automatic dispatch of firefighter/ EMTs. The emergency dispatchers and police will help Flaherty track how this is working.
“It’s a work in progress,” Flaherty said. He intends to review the new procedures in 60 days.
The adjustments to department policy came as Flaherty introduced three new firefighter/ EMTs — Devon Goddu, Daniel Hammond and Adrian Maldonado — who have completed their two weeks of training.
This brings staffing up so that there will be three shifts with two full-timers and one shift with one full-timer, with full line staffing of 11 expected by the mid-November. That will include a deputy chief position that has been vacant while Flaherty serves in the interim chief role.
The ability to return to two firefighters on duty around the clock is the result of funding provided by voters passing a Proposition 2½ tax-cap override in the spring, though the department remains short of complying with the “two in, two out rule” set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That rule which requires two firefighters to remain outside the scene of a fire when two go in.
Since taking over the position, Flaherty has reduced the backlog of permits to six, from 18 to 19 three months ago, and most permits are being acted on and reviewed within 24 hours.
All permits and plan reviews need to be submitted electronically, making it quicker and easier to do reviews. There is also an online payment process.
The department is trying to reactivate the use of the A1 ambulance that acts as a backup when Action is on another call. By having this Basic Life Support ambulance running on occasion, the town is bringing in some direct revenue from patient insurance payments.
The town’s Basic Life Support operation in its first year from 2024-2025 brought in around $75,000, but has had limited operations since layoffs occurred in the department.
Flaherty said the town ambulance has handled 15 calls since June, and 11 since July 1. All but four of those runs have been transports to area hospitals, completed mostly when just Flaherty and one full-time firefighter have been at the station.
Select Board members said they appreciate the work in rebuilding the department and making changes.
David J. Fill II said the response plan changes should save the town money, while Molly Keegan noted the operational efficiency and customer service, and how there is improved morale of workers.
Flaherty said he will be providing a cost-benefit analysis to residents of the services being provided and whether adding more EMTs and paramedics, that could help transition to a town-operated ambulance from Action, could work.
