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The City of Springfield, Massachusetts is known for such places as being the birthplace of basketball and home to the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Indian Motorcycles and Chapman Fire Hydrants. The city, is 33 square miles with a population of 158,000, has one of the finest fire departments in the area (their ISO rating is a 2) headed by Chief Gary Cassenelli, a Deputy Chief of Suppression and a Deputy Chief of Prevention. In 1994 they had a $15 million operating budget with a $3.6 million in fire loss. The Springfield Fire Department has 12 engines, 6 trucks and 1 heavy rescue squad on duty at any one time working out of 10 stations. And very shortly they will put a new Hazardous Materials Unit into service out of Headquarters. When a haz mat incident occurs 1 firefighter from E7 and L1 will man the Haz Mat Unit. All of the personnel on E7, L1 and the Rescue Squad are Haz Mat Technicians. The 425 man department works a schedule of 2 days shifts of 0800-1800 and 2 night shifts of 1800-0800 and then 4 days off for a 42 hour work week. Each company has an officer in charge and each station is headed by a captain. An officer and 3 firefighters work on each ladder company, while the rescue squad and engine companies have an officer and 4 firefighters per shift. Ladder companies have a minimum manning of three firefighters, the engines have a minimum manning of 4 firefighters and the rescue squad always runs with 5 firefighters. The starting pay for firefighters is $26,500 with a top end of $32,500.
The city has 9 district chiefs, 8 suppression chiefs and 1 in charge of training. The training division also has a captain, a lieutenant and 2 firefighters. The city is divided into two fire districts with the dividing line between the north (Chief #1) and the south (Chief #2) being for the most part State Street. In 1994 Chief #1 was the busiest of the two district chiefs making 994 runs, while Chief #2 responded to 729 alarms. Both chiefs respond on a multiple alarm of which there were three two-alarm fires in 1994. It is very rare for the Springfield Fire Department to have a multiple alarm fire they prefer to do most of the work with a first alarm assignment which on a full structure fire assignment will bring them 3 engines, 2 ladders, the rescue squad and 1 district chief and his aide for a total of 30 firefighters. The department answers approximately 7,500 calls a year and they do not provide any Emergency Medical Service. For 1994 they responded to 107 working fires and had 11 hazardous materials incidents. The rescue squad is the busiest company in the city for 1994 answering 1505 calls for service. They respond to all “telephone alarms” for structure fires, most master boxes and all motor vehicle accidents and hazardous materials incidents. The busiest engine in 1994 was Engine #3 with 1138 runs, while Ladder #1 was the busiest ladder company responding to 1,300 incidents. The fire department operates primarily on 154.175 (PL 82.5) which is repeatered and simulcast on 154.400 (PL 82.5). When they have multiple incidents they can separate those two frequencies and operate independently of each other. They also have a fireground channel of 153.83 (PL 179.9) and Springfield Intercity frequency of 154.28 (PL 82.5) In 1994 the fire department had an operating budget of nearly $15 million dollars with a fire loss of just over $3.6 million dollars. The Springfield Fire Department operates out of the following fire stations:
Headquarters-Station 1 built in 1980...605 Worthington St/Spring St
E1....1993 Pierce 1500/750
L1....1993 Pierce 100’ aerial
E7....1993 Pierce 1500/750
Haz Mat 1...1995 Pierce Heavy Rescue
25’ Outboard boat and trailer
Chief 1....1993 Chevy Suburban
Station 3 built in 1894...173 Oakland St/Dickinson St
E3....1989 Pierce 1500/750
L3....1981 Maxim 100’ aerial
Station 5 built in 1967...15 Oddessa St/Pasco Rd
E5....1996 Pierce 1500/750
L5....1996 Pierce 100’ aerial
20’ Outboard boat and trailer
Station 8 built in 1989...33 Eastern Ave/Monroe St
E8....1993 Pierce 1500/750
L8....1996 Pierce 100’ Aerial
E13..1996 Pierce 1500/750
Rescue Squad....1992 Pierce Heavy Rescue
Chief 2....1993 Chevy Suburban
20’ Outboard boat and trailer
Station 9 built in 1902...440 Armory St/Carew St
E9....1996 Pierce 1500/750
L9....1976 Maxim 100’ aerial
Station 10 built in 1987...2729 Main St/Calhoun St
E10..1993 Pierce 1500/750
L10..1998 Pierce Lance 100ft rear mount aerial
Station 12 built in 1953...1265 Parker St/Old Acre Rd
E12..1998 Pierce Lance 1500/750/40
Brush Truck..1996 Hummer/E.J. Murphy 250/250
Station 14 built in 1925...1043 Sumner Ave/Howe St
E14..1998 Pierce Lance 1500/750/40
Station 15 built in 1927...833 Page Blvd/Roosevelt Ave
E15..1996 Pierce 1500/750
Station 16 built in 1930...16 Massreco St/Boston Rd
E16..1998 Pierce Lance 1500/750/40
While you’re buffing in Springfield there are a few good places to sit and bide your time. For convenience sake I’ve taken the liberty of giving the locations numbers which in most cases correspond with the station they are near. The following is a list of the locations:
Location 1....Parking Lot across from HQ (Station 1) at Worthington/Spring
Location 2....Friendly’s P/lot on Sumner at Fort Pleasant
Location 3....Vacant Garage P/lot at Oakland/Orange 1 block north of Station 3
Location 8....P/lot across from Station 8 at 33 Eastern Ave
Location 9...Friendly’s P/lot at Armory/Liberty near Station 9
Location 10..McDonald’s P/lot at Main and Church south of Station 10
Overall, the city is a great place to go buffing, there are very few area’s that you really need to stay out of and the best way to find out is to monitor the Springfield Police on 460.100 (PL 156.7). I hope this mini-guide helps you should you decide to spend some time in Springfield.
© 1995,1998-2002Rick Burnham
Fire Department Profiles
© 1998-2002 Hartford Citywide Radio Association
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