By Melanie Gilbert
The Sun
LOWELL, Mass. — Ladder 4 has arrived.
The $1 million dollar truck was on display on JFK Plaza last Tuesday, with its 100-foot steel aerial ladder extended toward the roofline of City Hall. The brand-new truck will replace the current apparatus that operates out of the West Sixth Street firehouse after training and upfitting is completed.
Captain Josh Luna and firefighters Elvin Dominguez, James Boudreau, Victor Berlus and Fire Chief Phil Charron provided tours of the new truck to residents, City Councilors and administration staff prior to the June 25 council meeting at which Charron updated the council on the status of the department’s fleet.
” The Fire Department as of late is in a Renaissance period,” he said. “It’s due to the goodwill of the council and the administration.”
After the almost $14 million social impact program funding, the Fire Department’s $10 million allocation was the second-biggest ARPA allocation in the city. In a September 2022 report to the council, Charron outlined the dire condition of the aging 43-vehicle fleet, noting that the average age of the department’s equipment was 15 to 16 years. National Fire Protection Association standards recommend apparatus replacement at the 15-year mark.
“We’re looking forward to the arrival of another five engines right at the end of the calendar year,” Charron said. “That’s going to be crucial because our situation with some of the older vehicles is getting pretty critical.”
At one point, the department had to depend on a loaner truck from the Dracut Fire Department due to a firehouse truck being under repair.
With ARPA, free cash and capital budget funding, the department is receiving a total of eight fire engines, and 10 fire support vehicles, as well as ancillary gear, equipment and increased training opportunities that Charron said will create a safer fire ground environment for firefighters.
“The fireground is very dangerous,” Charron said. “Firefighters get cut, injured. They fall. We need to have the right procedures in there so that we can ensure their safety in a very volatile environment. Training on that continues.”
The chief also told the council that for the first time since 2015, the department will be fully staffed at 213 personnel. The department has begun the process of hiring seven new firefighters.
“We’re going to get them into the academy, and we expect to have them on trucks by November,” Charron said.
The new equipment and personnel come at a critical time for the fire department, which has responded to over 6,900 calls for service, including 35 structure fires, over 4,100 medicals and numerous other calls for assistance.
The Fire Department utilizes 46 vehicles, 3 boats, and various trailers and support equipment to respond to the 24-hour needs of the community.
Charron said new fleet vehicles will continue to roll into Lowell’s eight firehouses through 2025, including replacements for Ladders 1 ( Lawrence Street firehouse) and 2 ( Branch Street firehouse); Engines 1, 3, 4, 6 and 11 — or the Gorham, Moody, High, West Sixth and Lawrence street firehouses, respectively — and various support vehicles.
Capital funds are being used to upgrade firefighting turnout gear, battery-powered extrication tools and saws, connectivity to the dispatch system for response vehicles and a dive rescue truck, while grant funding is being utilized for the purchase of several interoperable portable radios, two new rescue boats and new handheld sonar devices for use with fire boats and the Dive Team.
After years of brownouts due to staffing challenges and broken or out-of-service fleet vehicles, Councilor John Leahy thanked the administration of City Manager Tom Golden and Charron for building out a robust future of fire-fighting capability in Lowell.
“We’re really on a roll, here,” Leahy said. “We’re really making some headway here. Appreciate all the work that you’re doing.”
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