When a firefighter currently calls in sick or schedules a short-notice vacation, they are not told whether their absence would close one of the stations because of understaffing. Under the new policy, fire Chief Barry McKay said the supervisor on duty will let the firefighter know if calling out of the shift would close a station. In that situation, the firefighter will be asked to see if they could find another firefighter to swap shifts.
"By asking somebody, maybe the station would stay open, but they have a contractual right to their leave," McKay said.
Swapping shifts is recognized under federal labor standards and is simply a mutual exchange of time, McKay said. It had been a practice in Gloucester before he joined the department, McKay added.
There are currently 77 firefighters and administrators on the Fire Department roster, with 73 being firefighters and paramedics who respond to calls. They are broken down into four groups that rotate shifts throughout the week. Each day-shift runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., while night shifts run 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Each firefighter has a 42-hour work week, with overtime accruing after a full week has been worked.
The idea to try to swap shifts came up during one of a half-dozen brainstorming sessions involving McKay, representatives from the local firefighters' union and members of Mayor John Bell's administration, to resolve how to keep the city's substations open in the wake of a fatal fire Oct. 1 in Lanesville while the Bay View station was closed after a firefighter went home sick.
Bridget Clary, 42, of Langsford Street, died from smoke inhalation. It took firefighters 11 minutes to reach Clary's home from the Central Station downtown while officials estimate it would have taken only three to four minutes to respond from the Bay View station had it been open.
Clinton Carroll, president of the firefighters' local, said he understands the discussion of policy changes to focus more on vacation days rather than sick time.
"When you're sick, you're sick," Carroll said. "But with the vacation time, you can definitely plan and find someone for your shift."
Carroll does not have a problem with asking those calling in sick to find a replacement but doubts that it will be effective.
The new policy does not change how much sick or vacation time firefighters receive. They currently have 18 sick days per year and 10 vacation shifts with five years or less service, 15 vacation shifts with more than five years service, and 20 vacation shifts with more than 10 years of service.
"It's an example of the union working with us to keep the stations open," Steven Magoon, the mayor's chief of staff, said of the policy change.
On Oct. 23, Bell ordered McKay to open the Bay View station full time and the Magnolia station open overnight from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. until the end of the current fiscal year next June. Magnolia will open during the day as staffing permits.
The School Committee offered $141,000 from a special $341,000 allocation the city received from the state for educational use to help open the stations. An additional $250,000 needed to keep the stations open came from refinancing city debt and from parking meter collections.
McKay said the new policy will likely only affect day-shift firefighters when Magnolia could close. The policy could be permanent, especially if the city does not have the money next fiscal year to keep the stations open.
Shift-swapping policy
Who: Firefighters
What: Agreed to try to swap shifts, rather than taking a leave, if an absence will close a station.
Why: To reduce the burden on the overtime budget
When: Now
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