Drive-By Birthday Parades Can Tax Smaller MA Fire Departments

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They've become almost a daily occurrence—drive-by parades featuring honking cars, police cars and fire engines—celebrating the birthdays of children who can't have parties due to the novel coronavirus.

But for smaller fire departments, taking part in parades can put extra stress on already thin staff. The Mendon Fire Department has announced—reluctantly—that it will not take part in such events any longer.

"With very mixed emotions, I have decided that we need to put a halt to our participation in birthday parades," Mendon Fire Chief Bill Kessler said. "This sincerely does not sit well with me, as I want our department to be a part of the community and to bring joy to children's faces in these tough times. But it is my responsibility to make sure we are focused on our primary mission, provide fire and EMS services to the community."

Mendon only has just two firefighters on duty during the day. Kessler said it's important they remain in the station throughout the day in case of an emergency call. If they're at a birthday parade, it may lead to a delayed response.

"Being away from the station could mean we don't have the proper vehicle for the emergency call that may happen while out doing a parade," Kessler said. "We, as a department, have done well with limiting our exposures to the virus, but each time we bring someone in from home to do a parade, it is one more time we risk bringing in potential exposure. Our on-call personnel have family, and the further you expand the contact list and the points of contact, the more risk you assume by bringing personnel in for non-emergency activities."

Other small departments say they need to balance their regular duties and parade requests.

Sherborn Fire Chief Zack Ward said he has two per-diem firefighters on duty daily, along with himself and a lieutenant.

He said the department has to do vehicle checks on all apparatus, so he said they work to schedule those checks during drive-by parades because the vehicle will be away from the station anyhow.

"We get to put one person on each truck and it gets them driving and gets them all tested," said Ward. "It's also good for the morale of our staff. They volunteer to do it."

In Wayland, when the Fire Department takes part in a parade, it typically sends one fire engine and one command vehicle, Chief Neil McPherson said.

"I can understand how this can be a challenge for some communities, but the demand for birthday parties in Wayland has been minimal," he said. "However, we don't always have resources available. We will continue to evaluate our ability to participate in birthday parties."

Upton Fire Chief Mark DiFronzo said his department participates in such parades if they have staff available.

"We will not bring in off-duty firefighters to participate, as it goes against the rules of doing our best to socially distance ourselves unless there is an emergency," he said. "While I can appreciate the idea behind these, I cannot in good conscience bring people in just for one of these events."

In Mendon, it's not just birthday parades that have been cut. All in-person training has been suspended, and firefighters are doing virtual training sessions with the goal of minimizing unnecessary contact.

"I hope everyone understands this and joins us in hoping this situation gets under control very soon, so we can start to be more active in whatever new world we are moving toward," said Kessler. "We wish all children who have birthdays during this time a very happy birthday."

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