Saugus fire chief: Station likely to close

SAUGUS – It was almost a year ago when a tanker truck traveling on Route 1 flipped over and exploded, killing the driver and sending a river of flames down Penny Brook that scorched several nearby homes and businesses.Fire Chief James Blanchard said the quick response from firefighters at the Essex Street fire station kept the situation from getting even worse.”They were right down the street and they were there first ones there, and prevented that fire from getting into York Ford and the Hess gas station and the Mattress Giant,” said Blanchard. “They got a line going and pushed the gasoline back from the Hess station.”However, with the town facing as much as $3 million in deficits next year, Blanchard said it’s likely the Essex Street station will have to shut its doors after Town Manager Scott Crabtree requested department heads provide budgets that cut between 3 and 6 percent.”I did that and submitted them, and all of them will close Essex Street,” Blanchard said. “The difference is how early will it close. Certainly the 6 percent cut will see it close sooner. You’re cutting overtime and we’ve had a level-funded budget for eight years so there aren’t many line items you can cut.”Blanchard said the station will likely close between January and April of next year, depending on how steep the cuts will be.This would leave the central station in Saugus Center as the only opened station, and create “serious delays” in response time to calls in the East Saugus and Cliftondale Square areas, Blanchard said.”It’s not just fires,” Blanchard said. “We do all the medical aids and we’re there before the ambulance. We’re all EMTs and Paramedics. They’ll be waiting for the ambulance. If you’re waiting to be de-fibbed, or you’re not breathing and waiting for someone to do rescue breathing, that’s a serious delay. It’s horrible. With these cuts ? the bottom line is you can’t maintain services.”Blanchard said a total of 12 firefighters are stationed at Essex Street, with three at a time working eight-hour shifts. If one firefighter gets sick or goes on vacation, Blanchard said that shift is filled using overtime. But cuts to overtime will leave the Essex Street station below its minimum staffing requirements.”As your vendor prices go up, you can’t afford to buy four air packs like you did last year, you can only buy one,” Blanchard said. “How do you cut that line item? You can’t. Public safety equipment ? you can’t cut that. So you cut the overtime.”Town Meeting member Al DiNardo lives a quarter of a mile from the station on Essex Street and said the busy road is notorious for bad accidents.”We had an accident here about five years ago where three young people were killed at 3 o’clock in the morning,” DiNardo said. “My neighbor’s house almost went up in flames. I know we’ve had six or seven deadly accidents right around this area just in the last six or seven years.”DiNardo said he and his neighbors have been growing more concerned as talk of steep deficits and budget cuts increases around Town Hall.”I’m just very angry at this whole mess,” DiNardo said. “Now there’s potential for it to be life-threatening for people.”Selectmen Chairman Michael Serino said he can’t sleep at night thinking about the cuts that are coming not just to the Fire Department, but for all departments in town.”It will be devastating,” Serino said. “Every department will be affected by this. It’s unfortunate and I feel bad for some of the employees who might get laid off. It’s horrible.”When Blanchard first took over as chief eight years ago, he said the Essex Street station was closed, but he was able to get it reopened within a few months.Looking back at last summer’s tanker explosion, Blanchard said if the station had been closed then, it’s likely more lives would have been lost.”You would have had significant property loss and people in the cars who were stuck there would also be dead,” Blanchard said. “It puts all those people in jeopardy and it puts the firefighte