Norwich The City Council Public Safety Committee started work on a plan to upgrade antiquated fire radio and dispatch system, a top priority in the new fire services study, and voiced support for a controversial idea to create a fire commissioner to oversee all fire departments.
The committee on Wednesday discussed the 194-page report by McGrath Consulting Group, released Feb. 16, for the first time Wednesday and started the process to obtain cost estimates for fire radios and upgrades to the dispatch system.
Committee Chairman Alderman Joseph DeLucia said much of the report will be reviewed methodically rather than as “a snowball running downhill,” noting the fire communications system is an immediate need.
Norwich Over the years, critics of the combined paid and volunteer Norwich fire system have cited anecdotes or statistics that the city has more firetrucks than fill in the blank larger city.
A new in-depth study of the city’s fire services, released Feb. 16 filled in some of the blanks and added “a heck of a lot more” on one comparison.
The 194-page study by McGrath Consulting Group analyzed the city s 49 pieces of apparatus at the two paid fire stations and five volunteer companies, including firetrucks, other vehicles, boats and trailers.
CEO Tim McGrath said his company had done fire services studies in 37 states before Norwich. He pulled out the studies in the past two years in other cities with six fire stations. Norwich has 28 square miles and a population of about 40,000.
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