Fire Department Operations
The Attleboro Fire Department operates 24/7 year round weekends and holidays as well. The department is staffed with 91 Firefighting personnel that include:
1 Fire Chief
4 Deputy Fire Chiefs
13 Captains
73 Firefighters
Firefighting personnel are divided into four Platoons or Groups and lettered "A, B, C, & D". Each Platoon works a 24 hour on-duty shift followed by a 24 hour off-duty period followed by a 24 hour on-duty shift followed by five consecutive 24 hour periods off-duty.
The Professional Fire Fighters of Attleboro were the very first career department in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to break away from the "traditional 10's & 14's" and go to the "24's" in 1972. Since that year many many other career fire departments in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have made the transformation.
This is how this work schedule appears on a calendar.
A - B - A - B - C - D - C - D - A - B - A - B - C - D - C - D
This cycle repeats over and over from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year. Once you know the first work day of any particular Platoon you can figure out the entire month in a matter of minutes.
Each Platoon is comprised of the following: 1 Deputy Chief, 3 Captains and 18 Firefighters assigned to the four stations as follows:
Headquarters - 1 Deputy Chief, 1 Captain & 10 Firefighters.
South Attleboro - 1 Captain & 4 Firefighters.
Twin Village - 1 Captain & 2 Firefighters.
Briggs Corner - 2 Firefighters.
The Fire Chief, 1 Captain assigned to Fire Prevention Division and 1 Firefighter assigned to Fire Alarm Division as well as 2 Mechanics and 2 Clerical employees (non-firefighting) are Monday - Friday employees.
The Fire Chief is the head of the Department and is responsible for all personnel and the day to day operations and financial accountability and is responsible to the Office of the Mayor.
The Fire Prevention Captain oversees all mandatory inspections as required by Chapter 148 Section 26F, hiring for special detail work and any other matters assigned by the Chief. This person reports directly to the Fire Chief.
The Fire Alarm Division firefighter oversees all matters relating to building fire alarm systems such as schools, hospital, nursing homes, factories, and public access alarm boxes. This person is responsible for the central alarm room and dispatch at Headquarters. This person reports directly to the Fire Chief.
Each Platoon has a Deputy Chief who is the Supervisor of all personnel on that platoon. Each Deputy is responsible directly to the Chief and is assigned with a specific administrative function such as Equipment Inventory and Distribution, Personnel Records, Budget and Finances and Facilities Maintenance.
On the fire ground the Deputy is responsible for deployment and placement of personnel and equipment as well as being the Incident Commander and Safety Officer. The Deputy may assign certain duties to any one of the three Platoon Captains while on the fire ground. All Deputies are certified as First Responders and C.P.R. trained as well. All of the present day Deputies were at one time E.M.T.'s and have had ample experience on the Rescue's.
Each Platoon has three Captains assigned one each to Headquarters, South Attleboro and Twin Village. Captains are responsible to the Platoon Deputy and are also given specific administrative duties such as EMS, building maintenance and supplies, vehicle maintenance, and training programs.
Not all Captains are given specific duties but each is responsible for daily station cleaning, equipment checks, and training. All Captains are certified as First Responders and C.P.R. trained as well. All of the present day Captains were at one time E.M.T.'s and have had ample experience on the Rescue's.
Each Platoon has 18 Firefighters assigned to fill the various equipment positions. There are at least 7 Firefighters on each Platoon who are selected for special EMS training and are licensed at all three E.M.T. levels: Basic, Intermediate and Paramedic. Firefighters are responsible to their Platoon Captains and are responsible for the daily cleaning of the stations, equipment inspection, and training sessions.
All Firefighters are certified as First Responders and C.P.R. trained as well. All of the present day Firefighters were at one time E.M.T.'s and have had ample experience on the Rescue's.
One Fire Fighter (Headquarters) is assigned to work in the dispatch or alarm room. This is the location where all emergency calls are received (911, box alarms, and telephone "still" alarms) and then "tones out" the fire and rescue companies as necessary. The persons assigned to duty usually work 12 hour shifts and then are assigned to another duty the remaining 12 hours (engine, ladder or rescue company).
Each Platoon of personnel reports to their respective stations by 0730 hours (7:30am) of each work day and relief the on-duty Platoon then continue at work until 0730 the following morning. For more details on how the 24's work see the sample calendar above.
▼▼Email Your Comments To Us▼▼
©2009 Professional Fire Fighters of Attleboro
I.A.F.F. Local 848