Pelham News : fire department

Pelham school district donates house to Fire Department

Salem Editor — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:50:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

For Fire Chief James Midgely, it’s the gift that keeps giving – a 17-room, two-story home donated by the school district to the department for handson practice.

Saturday, Oct. 24, marked the first of many training sessions Pelham Fire Chief James Midgely will hold in a Burns Road home. It’s an opportunity the department hasn’t had since 2003, Midgely said.

“It’s not often that you get to work in a building, and we’re going to have it for an extended period of time,” he said. “We get a building and we get to beat the heck out of it.”

Here’s the scenario: Lt. Greg Atwood is on his hands and knees doing a sweep of a smoke-filled first floor room when the fire-ravaged ceiling collapses, leaving him caught in a nest of wires and cables.

But Atwood isn’t alone. He has instructor Pat “PJ” Johnson from Kittery, Maine, to lead him through the drill. Johnson sits off to the side where he can talk to Atwood while operating a contraption simulating a collapsed ceiling – a tangle of electrical wiring strung from a rope. The “smoke” is crumpled wax paper stuffed into Atwood’s mask.

The home is a boon to a department that normally holds weekly drills inside Town Hall and has few opportunities to train at the New Hampshire Fire Academy in Concord, Midgely said. Just walking through what to do in this situation or that scenario isn’t enough, according to Midgely. Sometimes hacking through a wall is a lot more instructive, he said.

“There are things you can’t do unless you have a building you can destroy,” Midgely said. “Simulation only goes so far, talking about things can only go so far.” That wasn’t lost on firefighter Patrick Weaver. Having a real building to use was “the most educational training” out there, he said.

Superintendent Frank Bass said the School Board purchased the $124,000 home and 3.5 acres on Oct. 15. The district wants use the land as additional parking space for the high school or a permanent kindergarten facility. Either way the home will be demolished, he said. Once the sale was completed, the board decided to ask the Fire Department if they wanted to use the home for training, Bass said. “(Bass) sent me an e-mail asking if we wanted it and I said, ‘Heck yeah we want it,’” Midgely said.

Bass dropped off the keys last Monday and Midgely has been busy organizing firefighting drills ever since. He’s opened the building up to other area departments as well, including nearby Hudson, Salem and Windham. The Dracut, Mass., Fire Department has already signed on, he said.

Crash damage to fire station shows what will happen if road changes

Salem Editor — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:12:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

With the Pelham Fire Station left with only two working bay doors after a motorist rammed the fire house last month, Chief James Midgley is worried the situation is just a glimpse of what is to come. Midgely has had to juggle how emergency vehicles are parked to deal with only having two working front doors out of four since the Sept. 20 accident.

It’s a preview of the future, said Midgely, because if state and local officials redesign roads in the town center as a roundabout, as has been discussed, that would eliminate three bay doors at the fire department, making the temporary situation resulting from the accident permanent.

“If we have to shuffle trucks around, it’s a no-brainer,” he said. “It’s going to slow us down.”

Though Midgely had applied for funding for a new building with federal stimulus money, it does not look likely that the town will receive the aid, he said. Midgely now hopes to put a proposal for a $4.7 million fire station back before the voters in March. That same proposal failed at the ballot earlier this year.

According to Town Administrator Thomas Gaydos, selectman have yet to decide whether they will endorse the move. The board is preparing to take up the warrant article on Oct. 20.

Selectman Edmund Gleason said constructing a new fire house was a high priority for the community. The problems with the existing station, including inadequate storage and personnel space, will only get worse once work on the roadwork begins, according to Gleason.

“The frequency of calls have gone up,” he said. “It’s not something that we can neglect.”

One option to offset the impact of losing the bay doors would be to construct a three-bay out-building with enough space to house the department’s smaller vehicles, including two ambulances.

According to Midgely, some money has been set aside in the $39 million federal earmark funding the roundabout project to mitigate the impact to the station. Whether those funds will be used for an outbuilding remains to be seen, according to Gaydos.

Though the town has no timeline for when work on the roundabout project will begin, Gaydos said the state is preparing to move ahead pending approval from the Governor’s Council.

Initially against a new fire station, six-year resident Bruce Long said he had come around to the idea after watching the town grow up around him.

“(The station) is old, it’s too small and too cramped. The town is still growing, and I believe that the fire department tends to spend its money wisely. That’s the reason why I changed my mind,” he said. “I know its going to impact the tax rate, but still I firmly believe that it was one of the organizations that should be supported a little bit better.”

Fire destroys Pelham mobile home

Salem Editor — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:45:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Authorities believe the cause of the fire that destroyed a mobile home on Mammoth Road on Aug. 17 was accidental, although the blaze remains under investigation.

According to Fire Chief James Midgley, the fire ignited somewhere in the right rear portion of the mobile home, but officials are still trying to determine what set it off. No one was home when the fire broke out sometime before 6:01 p.m., though the resident of the 556 Mammoth Road mobile home arrived shortly afterward, Midgley said.

According to officials, the resident was later transported to the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua after suffering serious injuries trying to free his dog from the fire. Midgley said the resident tried to break through a glass door and sliced open his arm in the process. Officials are still trying to locate the dog, according to Midgley.

Authorities are not releasing the name of the resident, though Kevin Edwards is listed under the phone number for the address on yellowpages.com.

Midgley said the fire spread quickly, consuming much of the mobile home in the roughly seven minutes it took his department to respond to the initial report. According to Midgley, mobile home fires are some of the most dangerous fires to fight.

“(The fire) went fast ... The mobile home is constructed out of lightweight stuff and there is not a whole lot of insulation to contain the fire,” he said. “By the time the call was placed the fire had ripped through the place.”

Firefighters had the blaze under control at 6:21 p.m., according to officials.

Pelham received mutual aid from the nearby communities of Hudson, Windham, Salem, Litchfield and Dracut, Mass. Derry and Londonderry covered the fire station during the fire, Midgley said.

Pelham will sell firetruck rather than repair it

Salem Editor — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:13:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Shawn Buckley is one of the few local firefighters who had the opportunity to use the department’s aging ladder truck – now out of service and set to be sold off – during an actual fire.

His one complaint: the ladder is designed to hold a weight of 250 pounds or less. Despite being one of the self-described “smaller guys” in the department, Buckley said with all of his equipment on he weighed more than the ladder was designed to carry.

“Besides that, it worked great,” he said.

According to Lt. John Ignatowicz, the town purchased the 30-year-old emergency vehicle about four years ago with a partial donation from the community’s firefighters association. Without space available to store the ladder truck inside the town’s fire station, the vehicle had to be kept out in the elements.

Four years of New England weather has left the truck rusting and in need of repairs, he said. “It’s a fairly old truck, but it’s in great shape. At least it was until being left outside,” Ignatowicz said. “Just like anything else, the more mechanical parts you have, the worse it is not to be used and left sitting outside.”

Ignatowicz estimated that the cost of repairing the brakes and the other mechanical problems that have plagued the vehicle was under $10,000, but still too much for the department to afford. About a year ago the department took it out of service and it has been stored outside in the back of the station ever since, he said.

“All of the departments in the last couple of years have been feeling the pinch of tight money. It was just because of the logistics to keep it going it was taken out of service,” Ignatowicz said.

According to Town Administrator Thomas Gaydos, discussion about what to do with the vehicle began about two years ago when Michael Walker, the fire chief at that time, told him that the department did not have the funds available to certify the ladder truck.

Though it was never a high priority, Gaydos said the question of what to do with the vehicle has recently resurfaced.

“It was certified when we bought it, but over the next couple of years we realized that to run it and keep it certified was going to cost more money and the budgets were getting tighter and tighter,” Gaydos said.

“It’s a piece of equipment we’re going to get rid of and the question is ‘how?’” The last time the town disposed of an emergency vehicle, they put it on eBay and sold it to a group out of Mexico, according to Gaydos.

Whether the town will take the same approach this time around has yet to be decided. Gaydos said the proceeds from the sale will be split evenly between the town and the firefighters association.

According to Ignatowicz, the vehicle was rarely used during an actual emergency and despite being taken out of service and put on the auction block, the town still receives mutual aid from surrounding communities with operational ladder trucks.

“It did work at a few fires, and it was great besides the fact of it being an old truck,” he said.

Pelham may be closer to new fire station due to state ruling on stimulus funds

Salem Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:43:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Town Administrator Tom Gaydos said he’s pleased with a piece of state legislation passed earlier this month that will loosen restrictions on receiving federal aid from the federal economic stimulus package.

Passed by the New Hampshire State Senate on April 8, the bill will allow towns and cities to schedule special town meetings to accept federal dollars or vote on matching funds or bonds for stimulus-related projects without first petitioning the courts.

For Gaydos, who is looking at the economic stimulus package as a way for the town to fund the construction new fire station, the measure represents savings in money and time.

“Normally we would have to go to the Superior Court and get permission. (This) makes the process less expensive, for one,” Gaydos said. “It’s quite a nice piece of enabling legislation.”

According to Gaydos, department heads in Pelham are considering applying for a number of different grants available in the economic stimulus package, including the COPS Hiring Recovery Program. Under the program, municipal police departments will receive federal funding for the hiring of three officers and their salaries and benefits for the first three years.

Departments that enter the program are required to keep the newly hired officers on the town payroll for a fourth year.

Gaydos said the town is also applying for a grant through the Department of Homeland Security to fund a portion or all of the costs associated with constructing a new firehouse. Voters have rejected constructing a new building to replace the department’s existing, out-of-code fire station three times in the past, most recently during March’s Town Meeting.

Regardless of how much federal funding the project could get, the plan to rebuild the town’s fire station would still need to go before voters. Gaydos estimated the cost of holding a special town meeting at between $2,500 and $3,000.

But that’s not as costly as having to petition the court to hold the meeting, according to Gaydos. “We’re still going to have to pay to have the town meeting,” he said. “Obviously, if we had to hire an attorney to make our argument in court, that costs money too.”

In neighboring Windham, town officials have already received roughly $30,000 to add technical enhancements to the software the Police Department uses to report crime. Though selectmen have declined from pursuing funding from the police officer hiring program, Town Administrator David Sullivan said the town may potentially seek funding for the renovation of several historic freight sheds in the Windham Depot. Currently, the sheds are used to house the town’s highway department.

While the town has already has money for the project lined up – partially through state aid – Sullivan said he has been urged by state officials to apply for federal stimulus funds as well.

“To renovate those buildings, we’ve got a program with town funding and state funding to do enhancements and to bring them back to what they were,” Sullivan said. “We already have funding to do the project, any stimulus funds would just replace it.”

The few roadwork projects the town has already undertaken are ineligible for stimulus dollars, Sullivan said, including plans to build a secondary access road for the new high school.

Planned roundabouts in Pelham may delay fire response

Salem Editor — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:13:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Local firefighters are worried a project designed to rework the roadways in the center of town will result in slower emergency response times.

Selectmen gave state officials at the Department of Transportation the green light to draw up final plans for the project and begin work on right-of-way acquisition late last month. Intended to relieve traffic congestion in the center of town, the road work will replace the intersection of Nashua and Marsh Roads and the entrance to Village Green with two new roundabouts.

Though originally given two options to pursue by the state, selectmen have tentatively endorsed the second plan, which may force Pelham Fire Department to forgo using the front entrance of the building during emergencies.

According to Planning Director Jeff Gowan, the preferred first option – which would have required the Fire Department to relocate – was effectively taken off the table after voters rejected a proposal to build a new $4.7 million firehouse during the March election.

Officials will have an opportunity to put a proposal for a new fire station before voters again next year, but acting Chief James Midgley is not optimistic given the recession and is, instead, looking to funding from the federal economic stimulus package as a possible solution.

“It looks hopeful for us in potentially getting stimulus funding because the town manager is working diligently to make these plans shovel ready. If the money came through we would be ready to start in a couple of weeks, and that rates you very high on potential funding,” Midgley said.

While nothing is set in stone yet – the plans are nearly identical for either proposal and selectmen reserved the right to switch to their preferred option if funding for a new station came through – Midgley worries that were the town and state to go ahead with the project, it would leave his fire apparatus doublestacked inside the station with only one way out.

“Right off the bat, they’re talking about bringing the road within a few feet of the front doors. We would have to look at the options of not using the front doors anymore. It’s going to delay our response,” he said. “There are a number of issues and none of them are good.”

For the time being, officials do have some room to work with, according to Gowan. A public hearing is set to be held sometime in May to review both roundabout options with the governor’s council, and construction would not begin until 2011.

At stake is a potential $3.9 million federal earmark to fund the project. While there is no timeline to use the money, Gowan is concerned that waiting too long to go ahead with the construction could result in the funds being rescinded. The project is already a year behind where it should be, Gowan said.

He also worries that construction costs could escalate and drive the price tag for the project upward in the meantime.

“It is money dedicated toward a specific project, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be rescinded,” he said. “We want to get whatever traffic solutions we’re able to complete completed without the town funding it.”

Pelham Fire station fails

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:28:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A proposal that would have funded the construction of a new fire station failed to gain a threefifths majority at yesterday’s polls, marking the third time in recent years voters have rejected replacing the existing out-of-code firehouse.

At the final tally, the vote was 1,734 against, 1,057 in favor.

About 32 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls.

A series of zoning proposals that included a measure extending Pelham’s business zone along Route 38 did pass among voters, opening up the nearly 102 acres for potential use as office space, health clubs and retail shopping.

Voters also turned out in favor of the town’s $10,592,277 operating budget and narrowly approved the school district’s proposed $24,007,621 operating budget.

Competing for an open seat on the Board of Selectmen, former town selectman Edmund Gleason (1,365) defeated rival George Puddister (1,109). Lorraine Dube (1,119) and write-in candidate Deb Ryan (1,274) both won open seats on the school board.

Fire station warrant moves to Pelham ballot

Salem Editor — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:50:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A petitioned warrant article calling for the raising of $4.7 million for a new fire station came through the town’s Feb. 3 deliberative session largely intact.

A single amendment made to the article – proposed by Douglas Viger, chairman of the Board of Selectmen – changed the wording to give the town the flexibility to raise up to $4.7 million or less, depending on the construction costs, were voters to pass the article in March.

Though the article came without a recommendation from either selectmen or the Budget Committee, supporter Bill Scanzani told residents that moving to build a new fire station now would save money in the long run.

Scanzani said the loss of impact fees and the price tag associated with renovating the existing fire station and constructing outbuildings for the fire apparatus would cost taxpayers roughly $1 million in the next year.

“We can’t afford the alternative, which is not building it now,” he said.

Complicating the matter, Pelham is considering two proposed roundabouts to ease the traffic situation in the center of town. Both plans would be supported by $3.9 million in federal funding, but plan A requires the construction of a new fire station.

The alternative option would cut the department’s capabilities in half and add to response times by bricking up the building’s front access, according to Acting Fire Chief James Midgley. Selectman Harold Lynde broke with the rest of the board and urged residents to support both the plan A and the construction of a new firehouse.

“The selectmen made a decision based on the perception they felt it was improper to ask the taxpayers (for the fire station) in this economy. That would be valid if we were not going to sock them in the next couple of years,” Lynde said. “While I understand the sentiment, I think we end up penalizing the taxpayers with this decision. I respectively disagree with the majority of the board. I think it is the right thing to do with the least cost.”

Supporters indicated that they would be asking voters to approve the same proposed fire station selectmen backed last year, which failed on the ballot.

Residents also restored $2,447 to the library’s budget – the single amendment made to the town’s proposed operating budget of $10,592,277.

Pelham fire station, bigger business zone before voters

Salem Editor — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:24:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

For the third year in a row, residents will have the opportunity to consider putting a $4.7 million warrant article for the construction of a new fire station on the March ballot.

While selectmen opted against asking voters to appropriate the funds for a new station for the third time in as many years, a petition has put it up for discussion at the town’s deliberative session at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at Sherburne Hall in the Municipal Building.

On the ballot is a Planning Board proposal to expand the town’s business zone along Bridge Street to north of Rita Avenue and south of Balcom Road – about 102 acres of land in all – in an attempt to both broaden the commercial tax base and create local employment opportunities.

Proponents of the zoning amendment hope to bring banks, health clubs, educational services and other professional office buildings as well as retail stores, eating and drinking establishments to the town.

The proposal will exclude fast food restaurants with drivethrough windows, new and used car dealerships and big box retailers from setting up shop in the extended business zone.

Selectmen are also looking for approval from the voters to receive any potential federal money received through the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus package for their intended projects, even if the town meeting has deleted or does not approve an appropriation included in this year’s warrant articles.

The board is asking residents to establish a record of voter support for the spending of federal or state funds for projects that do not impact on the tax rate even if the project has failed during town meeting.

The town is also looking for approval to appropriate a $10.6 million operating budget for the next year. Other appropriations include raising $64,537 to increase the salaries and benefits of public works and municipal employees.

A further $64,897 is being asked to fund the first year of salary and benefits increases as part of a three-year agreement reached between selectmen and the Pelham Supervisors Association.

An appropriation of $156,877 would go toward funding increases in the salaries and benefits of local law enforcement officials if the warrant article meets voter approval.

Pelham fire chief up for Mass. job

Salem Editor — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:40:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

After more than two years fighting fires in New Hampshire, Pelham Fire Chief Michael Walker may be heading south to take up the top position with the fire department in Middleborough, Mass.

Walker – out on medical leave waiting for an injured knee to heal – said he had been encouraged by a peer who thought he would be a good fit to apply for the position. After submitting a resume and doing an interview, he found himself one of five finalists for the position of fire chief in Middleborough. The group also includes former Londonderry Fire Chief Michael Carrier.

“It was just an opportunity and a door that opened, and one of my peers told me about it, and I jumped at the opportunity,” Walker said.

Middleborough – located on the south shore of Massachusetts – has been without a chief for the fire department for a year and a half. In the interim, Middleborough’s Police Chief Gary Russell has been managing both departments.

With three stations, 30 firefighters and another 14 on-call firefighters, Walker said taking up the position in Middleborough would mean having more responsibility over a larger organization than he currently has in Pelham.

“The advantage is that it’s a larger fire department and there’s more staff. They have the community that’s developing and the possibility of community development that sounds interesting,” Walker said.

He said he would also look forward to taking more of an administrative role in the Middleborough Fire Department.

Plans to build a $1 million casino in the town proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe played a factor in Walker’s interest, but only on the fire prevention and emergency response end of things, he said.

“It’s not the casino itself, but it’s those things that affect the fire department – the fire protection for the casino, medical responses, disaster responses,” he said. “Anytime you have a niche like that, it causes you to have to rethink your fire services.”

According to Middleborough’s Town Manager Charles Coristelol, the five finalists will be interviewed by the board on Sunday, Nov. 2. After that, the timeline for the hiring process is undefined, he said.

Chief Tom McPherson of the abutting Windham Fire Department, who has worked closely with both Walker and his department in the past, described Walker as a “great asset.”

“We’ve worked with him several times,” McPherson said. “He’s a person who is generally interested in the fire service. I’ve enjoyed working with him so far and I wish him well if he gets the position and, if not, I look forward to continuing our working relationship.”

Walker, a native of upstate New York who spent two-and-a-half years in Fort Madison, Iowa, before coming back east to be closer to family, said he was in no rush to leave New Hampshire.

“I’m not desperate to leave Pelham,” he said. “I’m just content. It’s cool to walk around Pelham and be the fire chief. We have some really great people.”

Pelham firefighters and third-graders become pen pals to teach fire safety

Salem Editor — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:20:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Working with teachers and educators, Pelham Fire Chief Michael Walker is addressing his new fire safety program to elementary school children by pairing up students and firefighters as pen pals.

With a budget for community outreach that was nearly nonexistent, Walker decided to implement a letter- writing program he had seen work at another fire department before coming to Pelham. During the second week of school, Walker began working with third-grade teachers at Pelham Elementary School and Saint Patrick School. Since then, the students at Saint Patrick’s have gone through two rounds of letters, while the firefighters work on the letters sent by third-graders at Pelham Elementary.

“They can’t wait for the letter to come in, and they can’t wait to get theirs back to them,” said Gael Ouellete, a third-grade teacher at the Saint Patrick School. “They’re so excited when Chief Walker drops off the letters. They’re having a blast.”

Walker and his firefighters use the letters as a chance to connect with the students and pass along fire safety and prevention tips.

While the firefighters will answer questions from the children about their own families, pets and hobbies, they also ask students to create a home evacuation plan with their parents or check the batteries in their smoke detectors.

“Its extraordinary. The kids are great. They’ve learned to write, and they learn and absorb those fire prevention methods,” Walker said. “They get to know us, and the parents get to know us. It’s completely win-win.”

Ouellete said the program had done a great job of bringing a community together by connecting Pelham’s children with the town’s fire department.

“I think its finally giving a name to a face and making them not just the guys who ride on the back of a truck. It’s ‘oh yeah I know you,’ and ‘he’s a nice guy.’ It’s more of a personal touch,” Ouellete said. “Unfortunately, you get a town like this, which is a bedroom community, and (residents) are not as involved as I would like them to be. But now the kids are involved.”

Walker said the department had targeted third-graders after the National Fire Academy identified them as being at the age when they have developed the necessary cognitive and communication skills and can absorb fire prevention information. Firefighters are also participating in a second program that has first-graders competing in a coloring contest.

In the future, Walker said he would like to work with the Pelham schools to create other programs to get his firefighters out into the community, like a tutoring program for students. While Ouellete has made plans to meet with him next month to discuss more collaboration, in the end, he said it comes down to energy and time.

“We don’t have the funding to do a ton of stuff. The things that we’re doing takes the energy and the commitment of the fire department and the personnel. They volunteer to do it,” he said.

Walker has already begun to see a positive reaction from the community as a whole, as visitors stop by the station more often, especially during the days firefighters are out cleaning the machinery and fire apparatus, something he had hoped to encourage.

“It’s important for us to get involved in the community, and citizens need to know what we do and we need to communicate with the community to keep them safe.

(It’s called) community risk induction. If you see firefighters out, you’re more inclined to ask them questions that are on your mind,” Walker said.

“They’re always welcome. It’s great to have the kids here and show them around.”

Pelham Fire Department faces budget cuts

Salem Editor — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:30:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Facing rising costs and potentially restricting budget constraints for next year, Fire Chief Michael Walker remains supportive of a move by selectmen to keep the budget under control.

“They’re taking on the responsibility and following what they feel is a public mandate to try and find out what’s the best efficiency for the town,” he said. “I think they’ve got a lot of guts doing it.”

While nothing is set in stone until after the voters approve the budget next March, Walker is preparing to reconcile rising expenses with a budget that does not reflect those increased costs. In the short term, it translates into more overtime and a delay in purchasing new equipment or repairing older pieces of machinery.

“The only motivation is to deliver the best possible service under the budget,” Walker said. “What I decided to do, if we were going to have a limited budget, we were going to focus that into the training and focus on delivering the best service possible.”

The tightened budget comes as Walker must allocate $92,000 extra toward contractual obligations this year. In order to keep his finances on target, he had to cut $128,000 going to equipment, supplies and manpower.

In the event one of his firefighters takes time off or is injured, Walker may have to reduce the size of his shifts from four men to three. If the station receives multiple calls at once, the firefighters on duty will be forced to choose between waiting for reinforcements to show up or fighting a fire understaffed.

Walker has also been using emergency medical supplies – stockpiled in the event of an emergency – to stock his ambulances in order to defer the rising costs of the supplies. Not all of the supplies are transferable and of those that are, there is a limited amount.

The ability to purchase new equipment – like a backup hose, which would give Walker the ability to test his equipment without taking a fire engine out of service – does not look likely in the next year.

According to Shawn Buckley, a firefighter with seven years of experience in Pelham, the situation has been getting tougher for the department over the past year and a half.

“We went a month without buying soap to wash the trucks,” he said. “We were doing really good for a while.”

Though the department currently needs a new ambulance, new gear, and repair parts for several engines, including the backup forestry unit, Buckley does not see any of it coming through any time soon.

“Every little thing seems to add up,” Walker said. “We are going to continue to give superior service. We are going to do what we have to do.”

Selectman Harold Lynde said the intent of the board had never been to drastically cut the budgets of town departments, but to try and hold the line when it came to spending. While Walker presented a bare bones estimate at their request, the selectmen plan to review each of Pelham’s departments before presenting to the Budget Committee.

“We’re going to take into account any of the cutbacks. I know we’ve run across several of those things. We’re going to add those things back in,” Lynde said. “The level of service we have provided has diminished from what it has been. We are mindful of holding the line but also of obligations to provide adequate service.”

Lynde said voters may have been reacting to higher taxes and the downturn in the economy when they voted against the operating budget in March, but he did not think Pelham’s residents had intended to slash and burn the town’s budget.

By not voting for the approval of a police contract, he said the town had lost several good police officers, some of whom had not received a raise in three years.

“I think some people just vote no to say we’re spending too much money and not thinking that they’re going to get impacted by the level of service,” he said. “I don’t think people really want to diminish this capacity, but we have.”

For his part, Walker said he is working more closely with the neighboring town of Windham to provide adequate coverage of Pelham during any emergency that might arise.

Veteran Pelham firefighter dies at 48

Salem Editor — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:18:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Pelham firefighters saluted one of their fallen brethren with a cigar- smoking gathering on Monday, July 21, after learning of the sudden death of veteran firefighter Howard Mastropiero.

Mastropiero, 48, a firefighter with the Pelham Fire Department for 11 years, had been vacationing out of state with his wife and three daughters when he died of a heart attack Wednesday, July 16.

Chief Michael Walker described Mastropiero as a “good man, good father and a good husband.”

“You look at yourself and you wonder, ‘I wish that I could be like him,’” Walker said. “I never heard him say a bad word about anybody. He was always upbeat and supportive. He will do anything for you.”

Mastropiero – who routinely worked out with Walker in the mornings – was an asset to the fire department and to the community, he said.

He had just begun taking more of a leadership position within the department.

“Right now we’re grieving,” Walker said. “Everyone here loved him; the community loved him. We’re going to find out what we can do for him.”

Outside of the Pelham Fire Department, the flag flies at half staff and traditional drape of dark purple bunting hangs over the station to signify the loss.

On Monday, July 21, Walker joined with others to mourn Mastropiero’s passing and in a small ceremony held at a cigar store in Pelham where he used to purchase his cigars. His funeral was held that day at Londonderry Presbyterian Church.

Pelham firefighters wear red T-shirts to show support for troops

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:25:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Local firefighters have begun honoring the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen and women in a quiet, weekly nonpartisan show of support while on the job.

Donning red T-shirts emblazoned with the words “support our troops” for the first time Friday, July, 11, Pelham firefighters are hoping to create a weekly tradition of remembrance until the every soldier “comes home safe.”

“It’s important to us because as time goes by, it seems like folks forget,” said Chief Michael Walker of the Pelham Fire Department. “It’s about supporting the troops. Everyone has their own ideology. The bottom line is about supporting those people over there.”

The idea for the T-shirts came in the form of an e-mail sent to James Foley, president of the Local 4546 firefighters union two or three years ago.

“Someone sent me an e-mail saying, ‘If you want to support the troops wear red on Fridays.’ So I started wearing red on Fridays” Foley said. “So I happened to notice some Boston firefighters wearing red in the same light. One of my friends happened to get me one of those T-shirts.”

Chief Walker took notice, Foley said, and supported his wearing the shirt. With Walker’s blessing, Foley organized a T-shirt sign-up sheet for the rest of the department. After receiving the red T-shirts a little more than two weeks ago, Walker and Foley designated Friday, July 11, as the first “red shirt Friday.”

The next batch of T-shirts will go to the Pelham Firefighter’s Ladies Auxiliary to be sold to raise funds to help the station purchase needed equipment and for local soldiers charities.

Foley had his own brush with the war when a cousin who was serving in the Army was deployed to Iraq. He is currently training cadets at West Point Academy. Foley said the display of remembrance is a nonpartisan show of support, without any political overtones.

“I don’t want to send the wrong message as an anti-war statement, because it doesn’t mean that,” Foley said. “It means we support the guys over there. We want to make sure that they’re remembered.”

With a nephew who is a captain preparing for deployment in Iraq, Walker agreed.

“If you like war, you’re a fool, I don’t care who you are,” he said. “It becomes necessary at times; whether you believe in this one or not, there’s no consequence. They are people who are doing what they’re told and doing it with great honor.”

Walker and Foley aren’t the only ones in the department with a connection to the war. The husband of another firefighter saw combat in Iraq and a member of the department’s search team is currently training in the Mojave desert in preparation for a tour of duty in Iraq.

Both men remember the death of Army Sgt. Dan Gionet of Pelham in 2006 in an explosion in Iraq. His mother, Denise Gionet, will help to manage some of the funds raised through T-shirt sales.

“I’m supporting the troops,” said Ray Cashman, a firefighter for 23 years in Pelham wearing his red shirt while out on a call. “Some people may not support the war, but you have to support the troops.”

A firefighter for 19 years, Bob Chatel hopes to see “red shirt Fridays” spread across the state and country.

“I hope to see fire services everywhere do it,” he said. “Let’s see them all get involved in this.”

Foley said he will continue to show his support until all the troops come home.

“I currently wear red on Friday. I will wear red on Fridays until the guys come home. I can say as a firefighter there are long shifts when we’re away from our wives and children and when we do get home, hugging your loved ones is very important,” he said. “When they have the opportunity to get home and put their arms around their loved ones that is very important to them. I’m hoping that they’re all able to do that and that we won’t lose too many more lives over there.”

Citations presented at 74th Pelham Firefighters’ Ball

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:08:00 GMT

By Elise Talanian

Pelham Fire Chief Michael A. Walker paid tribute to five members of the Pelham Firefighters’ Association, and to the manager, at the 74th annual Pelham Firefighters’ Ball, which took place Saturday, Jan. 26, at Harris’ Pelham Inn.

Firefighter/EMT Jenny Larson was commended for assisting in the development of the fire inspection and pre-fire planning program. Firefighter/EMT Greg Atwood was honored for management of the Incident Management Software and information technology assistance.

Fire inspector John Hodge received his commendation for supervision of rescue services during the April 2007 ice storm, and office manager Maureen McNamara was presented a medal of merit for superior performance of duties for 25 years, development of the office management position, emergency medical service and firefighting accomplishments.

Firefighter/EMT Bruce Hallowell III was recipient of a letter of appreciation for revising the department Web site and developing a monthly newsletter.

Music for the event was provided by Good Times DJ George Whitehouse. Nearly 200 were in attendance.