Town of Princeton, MA
Meeting Minutes
Public Safety Committee
January 25, 2011
Fire Station 2, Redemption Rock Trail
Chairman Sulmasy called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Members present were Jim Comer, Bill Dino, Jon Fudeman, Stan Moss, Bob Sauer, Charlie Schmohl, and Neil Sulmasy. Also attending were Selectman Edie Morgan; Advisory Board member John Shipman; Fire Chief Ray LaPorte; Deputy Fire Chiefs John Bennett and Marc Matthews; Fire Captains Andy Dufresne, Tim Kelley, and Ken Whitney; Fire Lieutenant Dave Cobb; EMS Lieutenant Bill Dino; and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
Acceptance of Minutes
There were no minutes presented for acceptance.
Fire/EMS Presentation:
Chief LaPorte made introductions of his staff. He then presented two videos: one demonstrating a fire in a living room setting and one related to staffing a fire.
John Bennett presented a PowerPoint titled Princeton Fire Department Staff, Operations,
Needs Assessment. The presentation detailed staff members and their respective responsibilities and the various equipment components.
The Committee was informed that the EMTs have jump kits in their private vehicles to improve response times. Police cars also have jump kits and defibrillators. There are currently 14 defibrillator units deployed.
Basic pay for a Firefighter/EMT is $14.38 an hour. Paramedics are paid $17.00 per hour. There is a $1 per hour increase for reaching EMT I or officer status and an additional $1 per hour upon achieving Paramedic status. Personnel are paid $8.00 per hour for outside training.
Neil asked Chief LaPorte to address 3 categories of need: major capital, infrastructure, and manpower from both an on-call and education/training perspective. The response was that equipment and trucks are doing pretty well but that Engine 5 is coming to the end of its useful life.
The #1 need is a new ambulance; #1A is additional personnel and the associated training and gear.
Tim Kelley led the Committee through the points contained in a handout titled Training Requirements for Members of the Princeton Fire Department.
Charlie asked if the Fire Department have a position on regional dispatch and any recommendations on staffing. Tim responded that dispatchers currently offer services beyond that of 911 calls such as issuing fire permits.
Action Item: The Committee requested the Fire Department within two weeks provide it a report listing all ancillary tasks currently performed by Dispatch in support of Fire/EMS, and to designate which of them could not be handled by a regional dispatch operation located out of town. The Department indicated that it could and would do so in that time frame.
Schedule next meeting
The Committee will next meet Wednesday, February 9 at 7 PM in the Town Hall Annex.
Other Business
None
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM by unanimous vote.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Lebeaux,
Town Administrator
Referenced Documents
PowerPoint, Princeton Fire Department Staff, Operations, Needs Assessment
Training Requirements for Members of the Princeton Fire Department
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