By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Goffstown’s fire chief recently used the word “disgrace” to describe his department’s difficulty in responding to some calls, and said he is “saddened and embarrassed” by the situation.

In a blistering pair of e-mails sent in July, Fire Chief Frank Carpentino said the department could not provide mutual aid to Bedford in a recent building fire, and that Goffstown had no coverage whatsoever one weekend last month.

Carpentino’s remarks underscore a staffing system that relies heavily on an on-call force. This arrangement sometimes leaves the force unable to meet its service requests, Carpentino said.

One e-mail, dated July 18, describes a call for mutual aid from Bedford that Goffstown was unable to fulfill. The same e-mail said Goffstown lacked sufficient staff to respond to one of its own calls and required mutual aid.

The message is labeled “Disgrace” on its subject heading.

“Bedford Fire requested 2 pieces of apparatus from the GFD,” Carpentino wrote. “After a 31-minute delay, we could only get one vehicle out of the station to respond. This past weekend we had to bring in mutual aid crews from Manchester and Bedford to handle a box alarm because we could not muster up crews to respond.”

“Both of these incidents did nothing more than disgrace the department and tarnish its reputation,” he wrote.

That message was sent internally to members of the fire department, as well as to Selectman Nick Campasano.

Another message, sent July 28, informs five neighboring departments of Goffstown’s lack of coverage.

“I am both saddened and embarrassed to advise each of you that the Town of Goffstown will have no fire or EMS coverage for this weekend,” Carpentino wrote to fire chiefs in Manchester, Bedford, Hooksett, New Boston and Weare.

Campasano, Goffstown Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux, budget committee liaison Bill Gleeson, fire department secretary Brenda Barss and Deputy Chief Mark Hurley were all copied on that message.

Bedford Fire Chief Scott Wiggin said his department receives approximately 10 calls for mutual aid from Goffstown annually.

One recent weekend, Wiggin said Carpentino asked Bedford to cover two areas of Goffstown because the town did not have adequate coverage.

“It is fairly uncommon to respond to a fire in another department’s coverage area if it’s not a multiple-alarm fire,” Wiggin said.

Bedford responses to Goffstown alarms could have an impact on Bedford’s ability to respond to its own alarms, Wiggin said.

“Any type of resource that’s coming out of your town can diminish your own level of protection,” he said.

Carpentino confirmed he did send the e-mails received by The Goffstown News from an anonymous source, but would not comment on their contents. He did not speculate on who would have sent them to this newspaper.

He referred all questions to Campasano.

The fire department’s staffing difficulties involve weekend and holiday hours, Campasano said.

The fire department’s three stations are manned by 14 full-time firefighters on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Campasano said.

The town’s 48 on-call firefighters provide coverage on evening hours and holiday hours, and a total of five call firefighters man the Pinardville and Goffstown Village stations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekends, Campasano said.

Weekend coverage is assigned on a sign-up basis, and the department winds up shorthanded when none of the call firefighters submit for service, Campasano said.

Asking on-call firefighters to man the stations on the weekends blurs the definition of an on-call firefighter’s responsibilities, Campasano said.

“A traditional on-call person is someone who receives a call and answers it. A person who mans a station is not an on-call person, it’s a part-time employee,” Campasano said.

Desruisseaux said selectmen are addressing Carpentino’s concerns through the creation of a new “per-diem” firefighter/EMT, as well as the creation of a committee to devise a plan for around-the-clock fire and EMS coverage.

The firefighter/EMT position is advertised on the town’s Web site as an hourly shift position for weekends and holidays, with a starting rate of $14.56 and no benefits.

Campasano said the addition of these employees will not increase the budget, because they will take the place of the call staff who currently fill the position.

The fire department planning committee addresses a warrant article passed at the March 2005 Town Meeting.

The article, submitted by petition and passed 1,506-761, directed the board “to prepare and present a plan proposing 24-hour fire and EMS staffing of at least one fire station seven days a week.”

Campasano said the selectmen’s goal is to have a proposal ready to be placed on the town warrant in time for the 2007 Town Meeting.