Tewksbury Fire Department Operations

​Our response to a fire or other catastrophic events within the community is predicated on three 3-person engine companies and a shift commander to oversee emergency and non-emergency operations. Engine companies are capable of putting water on a fire and performing search and rescue duties. The closest two engine companies are dispatched directly to the scene of an emergency along with the shift commander. The third engine company, the furthest away from the incident, responds to the Center Station to retrieve the ladder truck to provide rescue, ventilation, and elevated fire extinguishment capabilities at the scene. Our operational goal is to have a functional engine company leave the station within 80 seconds of being dispatched to a fire type call and on scene within 4 minutes thereafter. The response goal for the remaining crews (second engine and/or third engine/ladder company) is to have them on scene within 8 minutes of being dispatched to the scene. While we do not meet several recognized consensus standards for fire department staffing for a community our size, based on our Department’s experience, we efficiently meet the average daily needs and risk expectations when our staffing is maintained at a minimum of twelve members per shift and assigned as follows:

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