LAWRENCE — The decades-old system that sends firefighters racing across municipal lines to help when buildings burn began showing stress over the weekend as the city's stripped-down Fire Department struggled to put out a third major fire in as many days.
The greatest response came Sunday, when two fires broke out within hours of each other at the former Merrimac Paper Co. on South Canal Street. Twelve communities responded to Lawrence's request for mutual aid during the first fire. Fourteen — from as far away as Ipswich and Danvers — responded to the second.
Yesterday, several fire chiefs across the region expressed frustration with what they said is a growing need for outside help in Lawrence that began last month when the city laid off 23 firefighters and shut another firehouse — the third to close in about a year — to balance its budget. In making the cuts, Lawrence passed off some of its firefighting responsibilities and budget problems to other towns and cities, the chiefs said.
Before the cuts, Lawrence called for help when fires reached three alarms. Now, city dispatchers pick up the phone on a second alarm, which is enough to empty all three of the remaining firehouses. When the mill fires broke out Sunday, just 15 firefighters were on duty in a city of 80,000 people.
"I'm going to speak clearly," said Salem, N.H., fire Chief Kevin Breen. "I'm concerned that's going to be the normal course of business, if they're going to say, 'From now on when we need additional resources, we're going to rely on mutual aid.' So we're monitoring that. Certainly Salem is not going to bear the expense of providing the base level of fire protection for the city of Lawrence."
Salem responded to all three fires in Lawrence over the weekend by sending two firefighters, a lieutenant and a ladder truck. It also sent a captain to at least one of the fires.
Westford sent a ladder truck, a captain and three firefighters on a 90-minute round trip to the first fire on Friday, which damaged two homes on State Street. When a second call for mutual aid came in as the former mill ignited Sunday, Westford fire Chief Richard Rochon said no.
"Mutual aid is not designed to supplement a town or city because it's running below (manpower and equipment levels) that you need to run at," Rochon said. "It's designed to assist when you've exhausted what you normally should have. I'm not sure (Lawrence) is at that normal level."
The layoffs in Lawrence came after the city cut nearly $2 million from the Fire Department's $11.1 million budget to help patch a $24.5 million hole in the $250 million spending plan for the city and schools.
Mayor William Lantigua's chief of staff, Leonard Degnan, rejected the suggestion that the cut was an attempt to exploit the mutual aid system and export the city's budget problems. He blamed the firefighters union for refusing to consider pay cuts instead.
"We're not looking to shift our budget problems to our neighbors," Degnan said. "We tried to negotiate with the firefighters for concessions. There was no more money. We didn't choose this."
The state's mutual aid system was established more than 50 years ago and is a backbone in the state firefighting system, as similar systems are around the nation. Massachusetts has regional districts, and the fire departments within them have "running cards" that list which of its neighbors would be called and in what order, and what resources might be requested as the number of alarms increases.
Departments can turn down a request for aid if their resources are overburdened. No community can charge another for aid. Yesterday, Breen and Rochon said calling in the extra men needed to help Lawrence over the weekend cost each about $1,000 in overtime for each fire.
In Lawrence, fire Deputy Chief Jack Bergeron said the flaws in the mutual aid system are many, including the time it can take for far-flung departments to arrive and the uncertainty that can result when strangers come to help with emergencies that require teamwork to handle.
"You have people coming from Ipswich to cover a fire in Lawrence — that's ridiculous," Bergeron said. "They're not familiar with the city, the structures, the hydrant system. These people don't train together. ... It might work. It might have a successful outcome."
Danvers acting fire Chief Kevin Farrell expressed similar concerns.
"If I have my facts right, you're covering a city of 80,000 with three pumps and a ladder," Farrell said. "It's not a matter of if something catastrophic is going to happen. It's a matter of when."
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