BERNARDSDTON — When the Fire Department’s new “strong chief” system goes into effect on July 1, the 12-member Board of Engineers that previously made the department’s decisions will be abolished. Instead, Fire Chief Peter Shedd will run the department himself, with input from small committees of firefighters.
Previously, all decisions, from re-allocating unused money to repairing or replacing equipment, had to be approved by the Board of Engineers. This, Shedd said, was often inefficient. He expects the “strong chief” system to improve the department’s day-to-day operations and communication. When it was being discussed at Town Meeting on June 6, Selectman Bob Raymond supported the change, comparing the old system to privates telling a colonel what to do.
Prior to the adoption of the new system, there was some opposition to the idea among the department’s firefighters, Shedd said. Some feared that their opinions would not be taken into consideration if all decision-making power were held by one person.
Shedd hopes that his system of small committees will solve that problem. Rather than having a 12-member committee consider all of the department’s operations, Shedd will delegate smaller committees to focus on specific aspects of the department, which will then inform his decisions.
“You can’t run a fire department with one person,” Shedd said. “I still depend on my firefighters to work as a team.”
Meanwhile, Shedd said, the town is again considering a new location for the fire station: the Valley Concrete and Construction property on Route 10, near Mount Hermon Station Road.
The Fire Department’s efforts to relocate last made the news in October, when there was a special town meeting to decide on buying the property at 23 Kringle Road for a new fire station. The Selectboard had negotiated the original asking price of $695,000 down to $585,000; yet the assessed value of the property, Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Dutcher said, was $62,500. The article failed in a vote of 165 to 31.
Although he didn’t give the asking price for this new property, Shedd said that it would be a good deal for the town.
The Fire Department has outgrown its current station at 18 Church Street, Shedd said. The building does not have space for offices or training rooms, the garage is only barely big enough for the engines, and equipment has to be stored in trailers outside because there is no room in the building. Because the building is situated in a wetland, renovations would be overly expensive, he said.
Because this new property is further from central Bernardston, Shedd said that, if the town buys the property, the Fire Department may keep one or two trucks at the Church Street station as a satellite to the new main station.