Stoneham Fire Department Ran Critically Short-Staffed 76 Percent of Fiscal 2025

STONEHAM -- August 5, 2025, Stoneham's Override Study Committee heard that the fire department ran below minimum safe staffing levels 76 percent of fiscal 2025 and spent $655,000 on overtime against a $360,000 budget. Fire Chief Dennis Sheehan told the committee that Stoneham's current staffing of two firefighters per truck falls short of the NFPA 1710 standard calling for four per company and 16 at a first alarm, and that he has sought four additional firefighters, four lieutenant promotions, and a deputy chief since at least 2016. Sheehan compared Stoneham's $4.5 million fire budget with Wakefield's $7.2 million and Winchester's $7.3 million, and described a November 2024 Marble Street rescue in which a trapped third-floor victim was reached by aerial ladder in six minutes but could not have been carried down had he been unconscious. The department has applied for a FEMA SAFER grant covering four positions, with a decision expected in September; a new substation is estimated at $20 million, renovation of the 1916 headquarters at $30 million. The committee voted unanimously to invite state Senator Jason Lewis and state Representative Patrick Day to discuss state funding constraints, and agreed the chair would draft an introductory section of the final report as a formatting template for other members.