WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - City officials in Worcester met to discuss ways to keep firefighters safe while doing their dangerous jobs.
In a scathing independent review of the Worcester Fire Department, Emergency Services Consulting International determined in their report that the culture of the department has to change, making clear that firefighters are seeking strong leadership, greater accountability, and more training, Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus, Jr. said earlier in the week.
The 248-page report that was commissioned back in January 2020 — about two months after the tragic death of fire Lt. Jason Menard, who saved his crew from a four-alarm blaze — was presented to city leaders Wednesday night.
The department has had nine line of duty deaths in the last 22 years, including six who died in 1999 while battling a warehouse fire.
The report outlines a series of recommendations for the department, including basic incident command training for all members, revamping outdated policies, changing the structure of leadership within the department after the current chief retires, and adopting a new method of internal communication.
The report reads in part:
“Communication is a common issue for many organizations and is a major deficiency within the Worcester Fire Department. It is imperative that a Fire Department Communication Plan be designed and implemented.”
“We’ve had studies before and nothing has happened,” said union president Lt. Michael Papagni. “The time is now and we pray that this is the catalyst that exacts true change to make it safer for our firefighters to give our fire service to this city because a single additional loss of a firefighter life in this city is unacceptable.”
In an anonymous survey, 62 percent of responding firefighters said morale was low in the department.
The full report can be read here.
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