After a fire at a Fall River assisted-living home killed 10 people last month, Massachusetts has sped up delivering funding to cities meant to boost their police and fire department staffing levels. The state is giving $5.7 million to the 10 cities that qualify for this year’s Massachusetts Municipal Public Safety Staffing Program, including $1.6 million for Fall River, the Healey administration announced Tuesday. The funds are usually available starting Jan. 1, but the departments have the option of using the money starting this month.
โThe Municipal Public Safety Staffing Program delivers funds each year to support the hiring of first responders in cities with the significant need,โ Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. โFollowing the tragedy at Gabriel House, we were able to respond to the needs of first responders in Fall River and cities across the state to ensure police and fire departments have access to the resources they need as soon as possible.โ
The Gabriel House assisted-living home fire was the deadliest blaze in Massachusetts for decades. In its immediate aftermath, Fall River’s fire union said that the city’s chronically low staffing levels could have cost lives. Days later, Mayor Paul Coogan announced that six of the city’s fire trucks would soon be staffed with four firefighters, up from two, under an agreement hailed by the union.
On Tuesday, Coogan said he was grateful for the Municipal Public Safety Staffing Program funding boost, calling the money “critical for our first responders” and for keeping staffing at a level necessary for public safety. “Our city is safer and more prepared because of this program,โ he said in a statement.
To be eligible for the Municipal Public Safety Staffing Program, a Massachusetts community must have more than 60,000 people and a police department with a per-capita operating budget of less than $200 in 2010. Each community that qualified received funding this year. The program dispensed $5.8 million last year, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
