By Melanie Gilbert
The Sun
LOWELL, Mass. — Fire departments in both Lowell and Tewksbury were awarded firefighter safety equipment grant funds of $50,000 and almost $24,000, respectively, by the administration of Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll on Jan. 17.
“We are appreciative of the Department of Fire Services, Executive Office of Public Safety, and our State House delegation for getting the funding for this equipment,” Tewksbury Fire Chief Joseph Kearns said by email Thursday.
Kearns said the department will use the funding to purchase five Seek Attack PRO+ thermal image cameras, which offer firefighters a significant ground advantage in making tactical decisions on the fireground, which is the area where firefighting operations are taking place. The thermal camera also allows firefighters the ability to locate victims in a burning building.
“This camera will drastically improve our fire attack tactics, search tactics and overall command strategies,” Kearns said in a memo to Town Manager John Curran and the Select Board. “It will also improve the confidence of a search team going in to find a victim or try and locate the seat of the fire. This device is a fireground camera designed to be durable but simple to use by firefighters.”
In his memo, the chief thanked Lt. Rob Keddie and Deputy Chief Paul Guttadauro for researching the cameras and applying for the grant.
Lowell Fire Chief Phillip Charron could not be reached for comment, but in an update to the City Council last June, he emphasized the important role that the fireground plays in successful firefighting operations.
“Fireground is very dangerous,” Charron told the June 25 meeting of the council. “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.”
Just days after the grants were awarded, the Lowell Fire Department put the brand-new, bright red Engine 1 into service at the Gorham Street station in the city’s Sacred Heart neighborhood.
District 5 Councilor Kim Scott said the new truck was purchased using America Rescue Plan Act money.
“This much-needed and exciting upgrade for the City of Lowell is long overdue,” Scott said by text Thursday. “A total of 11 new fire trucks are being delivered across the city, including a new Engine 1 on Gorham Street and a new Engine 11 and Ladder 1 on Lawrence Street in my district.”
ARPA was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in March 2021, and the city received almost $76 million as part of its federal allocation. City Manager Tom Golden called the money a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to reinvest in the city and its residents, and the council voted $10 million for apparatus replacement in the Lowell Fire Department .
The industry’s National Fire Protection Association standards recommend apparatus replacement at the 15-year mark, and many trucks in the LFD’s 43-vehicle fleet were already at or exceeding that mark.
Previously, Charron pointed to both fire response times and firefighter safety as the main driver to accelerating the replacement schedule through ARPA funding. Ladder truck 4 arrived first, and the $1 million, 100-serial foot ladder is in service at the W. Sixth Street firehouse in Centralville. With the ARPA funding, the department is also purchasing 10 fire support vehicles.
In addition to Engine 1 and Ladder 4, new fleet vehicles will continue to roll into Lowell’s firehouses through 2025, including replacements for Ladders 1 ( Lawrence Street firehouse) and 2 ( Branch Street firehouse); Engines 3, 6 and 11 — or the Moody, High, and Lawrence street firehouses, respectively — and various support vehicles.
“We’re looking forward to the arrival of another five engines right at the end of the calendar year,” Charron said in an interview in July. “That’s going to be crucial because our situation with some of the older vehicles is getting pretty critical.”
Capital funds are also 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.
“I’m grateful to the City Administration, the Fire Chief and Asst. Fire Chief, and our hardworking firefighters, who have endured outdated equipment for too long,” Scott said. “They deserve the best tools to keep our community safe.”
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