By Seth Daniel
Following the active shooter incident on Warren Avenue, the Chelsea Fire Department union is demanding that Fire Chief Len Albanese and City leadership immediately provide ballistic helmets to union members. The Department of Homeland Security has recommended this protective equipment.
Discussions between union President Anthony Salvucci, Fire Chief Albanese, and City Manager Tom Ambrosino have taken place over recent weeks regarding funding for the ballistic helmets. However, the City has chosen to postpone the expense and incorporate it into the following year’s budget instead, according to Salvucci. He considers this timeline unacceptable.
“We sat down with Tom and the Chief and they said, ‘When will we ever use this,’” said Salvucci. “Well, here we are two weeks later. At the end of the day, we want what’s best for the community. We’re not looking to stop this or to stop any training or drills, but we want what is best practice. We want the equipment that is recommended by DHS. We’re not opposed to this. This is a very real thing. The world is changing and we want to change with it.”
The City has recently made other protective investments, including active shooter training and ballistic vests. Chief Albanese noted that the vests were deployed on apparatus equipment earlier this month, with grant funding covering the cost.
The timing proved critical. “We trained with them through the month of April and put them on the apparatus May 5, and now here we are already using them,” he said, referring to the grant-funded vests.
Included in the recent training were tactical hemorrhage prevention, Warm Zone entry procedures with force protection protocols, and command staff coordination exercises. All of these directly applied to Monday night’s response, according to the chief.
“Utilizing the training and preparation for Active Shooter incidents, we were able to adapt quickly to this dynamic scene,” he said. “Once the house was heavily involved in fire, our firefighters made a cautious exterior attack, with ballistic protection, under the cover provided by Police and SWAT. The communication between Police and Fire was excellent.”
While acknowledging the successful outcome, Salvucci stressed that the incident revealed the need for proper equipment. The union believes ballistic helmets should be prioritized immediately.
Outfitting the entire department would require $7,000 to $15,000, Salvucci noted. He referenced available resources: a $34 million Free Cash fund and approximately $2 million in the Stabilization Fund.
“When you’re standing next to a SWAT guy and you’re fighting a fire and he’s wearing that helmet, you want to have the same protections that he has in that situation,” he said. “We’re not talking about big money here so I don’t think we should have to wait until the next fiscal budget. You wouldn’t send a firefighter into a burning house with half of his or her equipment.”