10/15/2026
PRESS RELEASE: Agawam Single-Role Paramedic Program
Agawam Fire Department to Become First in Western Massachusetts to Hire Single-Role Paramedics
New "Impact Shift" puts a third ambulance in service during the busiest hours of the day
AGAWAM, Mass. — October 15, 2026 —
The Agawam Fire Department (AFD), the Office of Mayor Christopher Johnson, and Agawam Firefighters IAFF Local 1973 today officially announced an agreement to bring single-role paramedics into the fire service — a staffing model never before deployed by a fire department in Western Massachusetts. The new positions will staff a third Agawam ambulance every day from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., the window when more than half of the town's emergency calls occur.
The program answers a simple problem: Agawam's demand for emergency medical care has outgrown its two staffed ambulances. EMS calls climbed from 3,702 in 2014 to 5,496 in 2025, an average increase of 4.8 percent every year, while minimum on-duty fire staffing has not changed since 2001. When both Agawam ambulances are committed, additional calls go to an ambulance from a neighboring community. In 2025, that happened more than 360 times.
Those mutual-aid calls carry a real cost in time. An Agawam ambulance reaches the patient in an average of 7 minutes, 18 seconds from the time of the 911 call — inside the 8-minute national benchmark. A mutual-aid ambulance typically takes 10 to 15 minutes, and has taken as long as 25 minutes. For a cardiac arrest, a stroke, or a child who has stopped breathing, those minutes decide the outcome.
Under the agreement, the Town will create six new "Impact Shift" positions, organized as two squads of three. Each squad works a 10-hour daytime tour on a rotating schedule, providing a staffed third ambulance seven days a week during peak demand. The positions may be filled by single-role paramedics, firefighter-paramedics, or a combination, depending on the candidates available.
The Impact Shift is added on top of existing staffing. The department's four 24-hour firefighting groups, their minimum staffing, and the town's fire suppression and rescue capability are unchanged.
A first for Western Massachusetts
Fire-based EMS in Massachusetts has traditionally been staffed by firefighter-paramedics and firefighter EMT's, dual roll positions hired through the Civil Service firefighter process. That model has served Agawam well, but the pool of Civil Service firefighter-paramedic candidates is small and often exhausted. Departments across the region compete for the same short list.
Agawam's model breaks that bottleneck. A single-role paramedic is a fully certified, advanced life support clinician who joins the fire department to deliver emergency medical care, without being appointed as a firefighter. By creating this new class of public safety employee, AFD can recruit directly from the broader paramedic workforce, fill positions faster, and keep paramedic-level care on every Agawam ambulance. No fire department in Western Massachusetts has done this before.
The positions are also built to be sustainable. Because the Impact Shift averages 35 hours a week rather than the 42-hour average of a 24-hour firefighter rotation, and single-role paramedics are paid on their own wage scale, each position costs less than a traditional firefighter-paramedic while delivering the same level of EMS care.
The program continues a long tradition of Agawam leading on emergency medical care. AFD was among the first fire departments in the Commonwealth to take on ambulance transport in the late 1970s, and among the first to provide advanced life support.
"Agawam was one of the first fire departments to put an ambulance on the road, and one of the first to bring advanced life support to its residents. This program puts us out front once again," said Fire Chief Alan Sirois. "We can't hire our way out of this problem through a Civil Service list that is already empty. Single-role paramedics let us recruit from the entire paramedic workforce and put a third ambulance on the street when our residents need it most — without asking taxpayers for new money and without touching our firefighting strength."
"I applaud the efforts of the leadership team at AFD and Local 1973 for their hard work in putting together this innovative and effective solution to a growing emergency medical service need in our community. This agreement represents the single largest improvement in emergency medical services in Agawam in the last quarter of a century” said Mayor Christopher Johnson.
John Saulenas, President of Agawam Firefighters IAFF Local 1973 added, "As firefighters and paramedics, our members see firsthand the growing demand for emergency medical services and the challenges of meeting that demand with our current staffing levels. Throughout this process, Local 1973 remained committed to finding a solution that would improve the level of service we provide to our residents while protecting our existing firefighter staffing and operational capabilities. This agreement represents a significant step forward for the Agawam Fire Department and is the result of a great deal of hard work, cooperation, and a shared commitment to improving public safety. We are proud to have played an important role in developing a program that will benefit our members, strengthen our department, and most importantly, better serve the residents of Agawam.”
Paid for by revenue the town is already losing
The Impact Shift is designed to be funded without new tax dollars. Salaries are covered largely by three existing streams:
• Recaptured ambulance revenue. Transports that currently go to out-of-town ambulances will be handled and billed by Agawam.
• Call-back savings. The department spent more than $140,000 on call-back in fiscal 2025. Under the agreement, call-back is suspended whenever an Impact Shift member is on duty.
• Overtime reduction. Reliable daytime staffing fills the vacancies that drive recurring overtime.
The agreement with Local 1973 runs as a 24-month trial, with labor and management meeting at least quarterly to review staffing, cost, and performance before any permanent change is considered.
Because single-role paramedics are a new class of municipal employee, the Agawam City Council has extended to them two protections already provided to firefighters and police officers: Group 4 public safety retirement classification under Chapter 467 of the Acts of 2008, and injured-on-duty leave under M.G.L. c. 41, §111M. "These resolutions, sponsored by Mayor Johnson, and passed unanimously by City Council, provide important benefits to this new class of employee. It keeps our agency competitive as an employer in a difficult job market and shows applicants that our community respects and appreciates their service," said Fire Chief Alan Sirois. "I thank the Mayor and City Council members for supporting this unique initiative and working to improve services in our community."
Paramedic Applicants Being Accepted
Paramedics interested in learning more about this program, or applying for a position, can visit https://agawam.ma.us/615/The-AFD-Wants-YOU or call 413-786-0657. The Town of Agawam is currently accepting applications in person at Agawam City Hall, Human Resources Department, 36 Main Street, Agawam, MA.
About the Agawam Fire Department
The Agawam Fire Department protects more than 29,000 residents with 62 full-time personnel providing fire suppression, rescue, hazardous materials response, and advanced life support emergency medical services. AFD has provided ambulance transport to the community since the late 1970s and responded to 5,496 EMS incidents in 2025. Learn more at www.agawam.ma.us/fire.
Questions regarding this press release may be directed to Agawam Fire Chief Alan Sirois, [email protected] 413-786-0657
