Incoming fire chief weighs new stations, hiring issues

After more than 30 years with the Acton Fire Department, Brian Whitney is settling into the chief’s office at headquarters.

On his to-do list? Helming the department through a discussion that could end with new fire stations.

“It is a challenge,” Whitney said of CFD’s current digs in an interview with The Acton Bridge shortly after his promotion. “It has been a challenge for a while.”

Whitney came to Acton in 1991 and became interim fire chief following Thomas Judge’s retirement from the top post. Town Manager Kerry Lafleur chose Whitney for the permanent job this month.

Like his predecessor, Whitney is concerned that the garages at both CFD stations are too short to fit standard trucks and ambulances. 

The town has been ordering custom vehicles, which Whitney said limits CFD’s options and adds costs. 

Location, location, location

Acton officials say the fire stations, police headquarters, and public works campus are inadequate. The town Land Use Working Group is considering what to do.

Whitney said response time is key and CFD should stay close to Acton Center and West Acton Village, where many tightly packed buildings predate sprinkler requirements.

“Those extra couple minutes to get to a fire could be the difference of containing a fire to a room or one business versus extending into multiple businesses or even to another building,” Whitney said. 

The existing stations are also centrally located for calls in surrounding neighborhoods. 

Whitney said that the shuttered Peabody School would be “a bit far” for a station. And if Acton sticks with a two-station format, he said moving a station to the Superfund site at 2229 Main Street — once crews finish their cleanup — might also lengthen response times.

Whitney said the final decision depends, in part, on the working group’s recommendations. A new station would probably need to go before Town Meeting for borrowing approval.

Whatever the town does with its public safety and public works facilities, Whitney expects incoming development in West Acton will raise call volumes. 

Amid a building boom, Select Board member and Land Use Working Group representative Paul Boehm suggested that West Acton should have the town’s main station rather than its existing auxiliary setup. 

“That probably makes sense,” Boehm told The Bridge on Monday.

Changes and challenges

If construction is brisk in town, interest in applying for jobs at the fire department may be less so. 

Early in his career, Whitney said, job postings drew up to 200 applicants. CFD’s last round of hiring attracted roughly 40. Only “a couple dozen” had the required paramedic/firefighter credentials. 

Whitney said, “Every generation is different,” and he’s taking the hiring hurdle in stride. “We just know we have to adjust,” he said. 

Changing times have also yielded a new eye in the sky for CFD thanks to a grant from the Acton-Carlisle Foundation. 

Whitney said a new drone will help crews with everything from search and rescue missions to large fire responses. It could be especially helpful with mapping brush fires, which experts warn are becoming more dangerous in New England due to hotter summers and worsening droughts.

One proposal for this year’s CFD budget would have slashed overtime spending and forced the department to lower its minimum staffing. Officials averted the worst of the cut but still trimmed the line item.

Whitney said the department relies heavily on overtime. As he enters his first budget cycle as chief, he said, “It’s definitely something that we will monitor very close.” 

‘A unique feeling’

Whitney started as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown, Ashburnham. He made stops in Longmeadow and Littleton before climbing the ranks in Acton. 

Whitney rose through CFD alongside Judge. Before he made chief, Whitney and Judge harkened back to a “phenomenal fire attack” at a West Acton home.

“We were high-fiving each other,” Judge recalled as Whitney leaned on the door frame of the chief’s office. 

“What happened after?” Whitney asked with a smile. 

The owners bulldozed the house.

Asked if it was demoralizing to see a building they saved meet the wrecking ball, Whitney insisted, “It’s part of the job.”

As his predecessor now enjoys retirement, Whitney says they’ve stayed in touch. 

“It’s kind of a unique feeling,” he said of his new role. “[It’s] very exciting.”