Brockton's Ladder Company stretched thin

BROCKTON, Mass. — One of the busiest fire departments in the country is right here in New England. Ladder Company Number 1 in Brockton is making as many runs as other big cities like Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Ladder Company #1 was called out three times while Boston 25 News was with them. By the time we left Friday, they had made their ninth run of the day for everything from medical calls to bad car accidents.

“There are times when the guys get a little fatigued,” said Captain Richard Costa.

Costa isn’t surprised by the numbers that his company made 4,880 runs in 2016; the seventh highest in the country.

For a city of only 95,000 people, Brockton is up there with some of the biggest cities in the country.

According to Firehouse Magazine’s 2016 national run survey, which was just released this month, Brockton’s Ladder Company #1 is in the same top ten list as other ladder companies from cities like Denver, New York, Baltimore and Miami.

Brockton also made more runs than the busiest ladder companies in Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago. Those 4,800-plus runs averages out to more than 13 calls a day.

“Yeah, we’re stretched thin,” said Costa.

Costa says they’re responding to more medical calls now than when he first joined the department. And Brockton’s population is growing, but their fire department’s budget is not.

“In a perfect world, we’d have 30, 40 more firefighters, two additional trucks. Again, it’s a financial consideration,” said Costa.

Brockton’s fire chief told us when resources and men are stretched thin, it can cause delays in response times. Then there’s the concern of burning out some of the men who work in the most extreme conditions.

“Certain people have a preconceived notion that we just come to the station and don’t do anything all day long. And I’m like, not where I work,” said Eric Maguire, Brockton Firefighter for 13 years.

Brockton’s mayor told Boston 25 there is no plan right now to offer the department more resources. So, for the time being, those staggering run number will continue to be a source of pride and some exhaustion.

Cox Media Group