SERVICES - EMS, Fire Alarm Dispatch, Special Operations, Public Education

EMS - Emergency Medical Services

The Beverly Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Division is responsible for all things EMS within the fire department. From maintaining a cache of supplies to ensuring the department’s firefighters maintain their medical credentials from first responder, and CPR to Emergency Medical Technician. In 2021, the Beverly Fire Department became a licensed Emergency First Response agency with the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services. The license provides for the department to offer additional life-saving services such as Aspirin for chest pain and Glucose for diabetic emergencies.

Lieutenant Brad Saunders runs the EMS program on top of his normal duties as a firefighter/EMT with the Beverly Fire Department. He also provides CPR classes to outside agencies and assisted the Beverly Council on Aging with acquiring a defibrillator for the Senior Center on Colon St.

LT Saunders is assisted by several instructors who share the load of training firefighters and civilians.

FIRE ALARM DISPATCH - COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION

The Communications Division (Fire Alarm) of the Beverly Fire Department is comprised of five full-time Principle Fire Alarm Operators. The operators staff an office at the Headquarters station where they take in and process general and emergency calls as well as conduct Fire Department dispatching.

Principal Fire Alarm Operator Tim Price oversees the Fire Alarm Office. PFAO Price reports directly to Chief O’Connor. In addition to the five full-time operators, intermittent operators fill in shifts on a part-time basis.
 
 While Fire Alarm Operators primarily dispatch for the City of Beverly, the office also operates District Five Control. District Five Control is an entity that provides resource coordination during large incidents across southern Essex County so that the dispatch centers in the other communities can focus on managing their incident. Actions taken by District Five Control can include requesting apparatus from across the County or activation of regional teams like the Essex County Technical Rescue or Beverly Dive Teams.

The Beverly Fire Department is proud to have Fire Alarm Operators that dispatch with professionalism and expertise that firefighters on the fire ground can rely on during an emergency.

SPECIAL OPERATIONS - DIVE/RESCUE TEAM, MARINE 1 and HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MITIGATION TEAM

As the Special Operations Officer, Captain Arthur Fitzpatrick oversees the training and organization of several groups that train for special hazards faced by the Beverly Fire Department. The Special Operations of the Beverly Fire Department includes the Dive/Rescue Team, Marine 1, and the Hazardous Materials Mitigation Team.

DIVE/RESCUE TEAM - The Beverly Fire Department Dive Team continues to be one of the area's longest-running dive teams. The team consists of twelve divers that undergo a rigorous training before they are assigned the role of primary diver. All of our divers are required to attend 5 training sessions each year including a mandatory Ice Rescue Drill.

The team has monthly training sessions. During the sessions, divers practice specialized search and rescue skills that include, search patterns, underwater communications, night operations, ice operations, diving at depth and even diving in entanglement hazards to name a few.                                                                                        

Each diver is assigned their own complete set of gear that includes a dry suit, full face mask with diver-to-diver and diver-to-surface communications, Buoyancy Compensator, gloves, fins, and boots. All that equipment is stowed and ready to go on our 2011 Ferarra Heavy Rescue, Dive Rescue 1.

MARINE 1 - Marine 1 is a multi-hazard response vessel that is operated by the Beverly Fire Department. It has capabilities for both firefighting and search and rescue. Marine 1 remains one of a kind in our region. Though additional Fire Boats are being added in communities around ours, none has the capabilities of Marine 1. Our vessel is a virtual floating fire truck with the capability to conduct search and rescue operations, hazardous materials operations, support diver operations or flow 1,500 gallons per minute through its massive fire pump.

HAZMAT MITIGATION TEAM - The Hazardous Materials Mitigation Team (HMMT) is a group of firefighters that maintain and specialize in the operation of equipment that is deployed to hazardous materials releases. The team trains monthly for incidents related to the release of hazardous materials. The Oil Spill Trailer contains several hundred feet of two sizes of boom and associated equipment to control the release of hydrocarbons into a waterway. The trailer has been used several times for releases of oils into the Bass River and members train on its deployment with Marine 1, the department Fire Boat.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Public Fire Education goes hand in hand with Fire Prevention. Several firefighters are also tasked with the additional responsibility of providing public education to our community. Though our efforts are focused on providing a fire and injury prevention program to school-aged children, the department also has partnerships that enable us to spread messages to a variety of groups. Firefighter Matthew Pierce organizes the public education program and is charged with seeking out and providing the message of fire and injury prevention whenever the opportunity presents itself. Firefighter Pierce also acts as the department's Public Information Officer, advising the media and the community about ongoing activities at the department and acting as the department spokesperson at major emergencies.

Much of the Public Education effort is funded by the Department of Fire Services Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE)/Senior SAFE program. In 2022, the department received $9,530 from the State to provide public education to children and seniors. The SAFE Program has been in existence since 1996 and is credited with a reduction in child deaths through the teaching of 23 key fire safety behaviors. In addition to spreading the message of Fire Safety at schools, the firefighters also provide the message of fire safety at a variety of community events including the Annual Open House which takes place each year during Fire Prevention Week. This year's Open House take place on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Click on PATCHES the DOG to view the detailed flyer!