Volunteer fire departments to get payments for highway calls
Mystic — Thanks to the efforts of the Old Mystic Fire department and state Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, volunteer fire departments from across the state that respond to calls on limited-access highways such as Interstates 95 and 395 will receive $500 a call from the state.
The payments were instituted in 1959 at $25 per call. They increased to $100 in 1971 and stayed at that amount until 2003, when the law that established them was repealed. Since then, departments such as Old Mystic, which responds to about 40 calls such as accidents, fires and medical emergencies a year on I-95 from exits 88 to 91, have received no payments.
Old Mystic Fire Chief Ken Richards Jr. and Old Mystic Fire District Vice President Mike Pacheco brought the issue to the attention of Howard, a member of the General Assembly's Public Safety Committee, pointing out that it is Old Mystic Fire District taxpayers, and not state taxpayers, who pay the cost of the calls, which sometimes involve having idling vehicles and personnel on the highway for many hours. While state police respond to calls on limited-access highways, there is no state fire department to respond, which leaves the response to local fire departments.
"Since 2002 the Old Mystic Fire Department has provided services to the taxpayers of the state of Connecticut with the cost being paid by the Old Mystic taxpayers," Richards said Tuesday.
"We just want to see our taxpayers get a break," Pacheco added.
Both men said the department is committed to providing fire services on the highway. As an example, Pacheco pointed out that the department's $950,000 rescue truck was specifically outfitted to handle incidents it responds to on the highway. District taxpayers paid for that truck and all the others that respond.
With the exception of Groton and New London, which have paid fire departments and are not eligible for the payments, many other towns in southeastern Connecticut have volunteer departments that respond to calls on I-95 and I-395.
Howard explained that after the bill came out of the legislature's Public Safety and Judiciary committees, the plan and its funding were incorporated into the state budget adjuster bill that was passed by the General Assembly. Although he worked on getting the money for the highway calls approved, Howard ended up voting against the budget bill because he objected to other areas of spending.
The budget includes $1.5 million in payments to reimburse volunteer departments for 3,000 calls over the state's fiscal year.
While a reimbursement of about $20,000 a year will not cover the cost of wear and tear on equipment and rising cost of fuel involved in responses to highway calls, both Richards and Pacheco welcomed the revenue in the $2.2 million annual district budget. They said $20,000 is the cost of just one extrication tool on the rescue truck.
An analysis of 2021 highway calls placed the department's costs at $33,431, based on Federal Emergency Management Agency equipment rates.
"We're grateful for Greg (Howard) being proactive on this," Pacheco said.
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