Hopedale fire chief pitches plan to double firefighters at no cost to taxpayers
The Milford Daily News
HOPEDALE After years of minimal staffing and low budgets, Hopedale’s fire chief said this week that he has found a way to double the town’s number of firefighters at no cost to taxpayers.
“The runs are coming in, the staffing isn’t,” Fire Chief Thomas Daige told selectmen this week, referring to emergency calls that need firefighters and EMTs. “You know this, I know this, we’ve been trying to find a way to add staffing.”
The chief s solution is called inter-facility transports, and it involves patients who require medical transportation from the hospital back to their homes or assisted living facilities. Because the transportation is required, Hopedale will typically be paid for the rides through insurance plans.