Loughlin: Westfield Fire Department "Adequately Staffed" Despite SAFER Grants Not Coming Through

Westfield Councilman Keith Loughlin, vice chair of the public safety committee, confirmed that the four Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants for which the town had applied were not acted upon.

The grants, available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), would have provided for the hiring of up-to four firefighters for two years at no cost to the Westfield taxpayer. 

During a , Town Administrator Jim Gildea announced that the town sought the grants in an effort to maintain services in the face of declining revenues. Gildea said Westfield had also applied for a grant that could assist in the hiring of up-to two new police officers through the COPS MORE program. That grant did not come through either.  

Regarding the SAFER grants, Loughlin said "they were not rejected or denied" but rather "our application was not acted on."

"Although we had an opportunity to apply for grants to increase the size of our fire and police departments, it is important to note that we (the public safety committee) are comfortable with our current staffing levels," he said. "Westfield has 28 paid firefighters as well as paid deputy chief and chief. That's 30 paid firefighters. I believe that's sufficient for a town of our size. As we stand here today, I consider us to be adequately staffed but we will continue to meet with the fire chief to monitor the situation."

Westfield Councilman and chair of the finance committee Sam Della Fera said it was his understanding that the communities who received the grants were ones that had experienced lay offs. He added that the Town of Westfield has reapplied for the same four grants for fiscal year 2012 and hopes to hear something by January.

"I'm hopeful we'll have better luck this time now that those towns have worked themselves out," he said.

In early August, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced that the Colonia Volunteer Fire Department had received $460,000 in federal funding to recruit new firefighters.

Loughlin pointed to Westfield's volunteer ranks as well as its shared services agreement with neighboring towns that both receive and provide mutual aid as ways in which the town has maintained services without the taxpayer bearing any additional burden.

The shared services arrangement c said they believe the fact that Westfield firefighters were called to assist at a Springfield fire contributed to a delay in battling a

At that same meeting, Westfield resident and fire department Lt. Tim Brennan said Westfield firefighters will "still do whatever if takes" because it is in their nature but battling fires such as the one at  in May 2011 and the one that occurred at  just one month prior are becoming increasingly difficult without adequate manpower. Fires that could previously be contained to one room are now spreading, said Brennan, who acknowledged that he no longer feels safe in his hometown.

"We've had some fires in town and we're (the council) all residents of Westfield; we're all sensitive to the fact that people want to feel safe and protected," said Loughlin, who added that at the same time he believes the town must do whatever it can to control costs at a municipal level. "I don't think the answer is to hire more people and put more tax burden on the residents of Westfield." 

Westfield Fire Chief Dan Kelly could not be reached for comment.