No Firefighter Cuts, No Station Closures: Southington FD Board

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Fears of Southington closing a fire station and reducing staff appear to have been alleviated for now.

The Southington Board of Fire Commissioners conducted a special meeting last week and its members made it clear there is no intention to do such during the upcoming budget season.

"I feel compelled to let Southington residents know that the fire commission does not, has not, and will not, support the reduction of staffing or services of the Southington Fire Department," said fire commission chairman Ed Costello in a statement read aloud at the Jan. 2 special meeting.

"There will not be a proposal to close a fire station. The commission remains steadfast in their support for our department and is committed to our mission of providing the tools and resources needed for the continued success of the department."

In the days leading up to the meeting, Southington Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2033 asked residents to attend the Southington Board of Fire Commissioners meeting.

The union claimed the board was mulling over multiple options for the Southington Fire Department. According to Local 2033, they included:

• Maintaining current staffing.

• Maintain 24/7 staffing at Southington Fire Headquarters and Station 5, but close Station 3 while new hires attend the CT Fire Academy in the spring and fall.

• Remove career staffing from fire headquarters and relocate Truck 1 and Car 4 to Station 3, leaving no career staffing in the center of town.

Costello, however, said the latter two options were never likely.

"The commission, with its former chairman, has been planning for 6 months or more to add staffing," Costello said in his statement.

"As the new chair, I plan to continue our mission. We have a proposal in place to hire 4 firefighters utilizing a SAFER grant for 3 of them."

After the meeting, union brass appeared happy at both the meeting's turnout and the results, which indicate drastic cuts feared will not happen or be proposed.

"The support from our community was truly humbling. The clear message from the meeting was that we must fully fund SFD to ensure the best service for our town while providing our members with the resources they need to perform their duties safely and effectively," wrote the union on Facebook.

Local 2033 reaffirmed that staff needs to increase and no stations should close, indicating Southington's hybrid paid/volunteer department will have to hire more paid staffers to maintain existing fire coverage.

Several firefighters testified as such during the Jan. 2 meeting, urging the board against any options that don't add staff and/or cut fire stations.

For the minutes of the Jan. 2 Southington Board of Fire Commissioners meeting, click on this link.

From Dec. 30, 2024: 'Southington Firefighters Fear Proposed Cuts Could Hurt Fire Coverage'