05/31/2026
Southington Democrats on the Town Council recently voted against hiring 3 additional fire fighters. Thats despite the FF union saying for years that our staffing it and enough. Now a massive fire broke out, and Southington Dems are scrambling to save face. Shame on the SDTC for not taking public safety seriously!!
Today’s fire at Chuck & Eddie’s is exactly why staffing matters.
The first-arriving apparatus (Truck 1) was staffed at our minimum staffing level- officer and a driver.
Station 3 — the closest fire station to this incident — was unstaffed—closed for nights and weekends.
Mutual aid departments were needed to assist with the fire and provide coverage for the rest of town for HOURS- on their taxpayers dime.
While firefighters were committed to a major fire involving fuel, hazardous materials, and foam operations, mutual aid departments handled seven additional critical incidents.
Let that sink in.
One major fire.
Seven additional emergencies.
An unstaffed fire station.
Minimum staffing on the first-arriving apparatus.
This, just weeks after the Town Council voted against adding the firefighters they had previously promised, further reduced the Fire Department budget, delayed filling the Assistant Chief position, and eliminated the Chief’s Secretary position—a critical administrative role that supports the daily operation of the department (a position dating back to the 1980’s).
Our firefighters will continue to answer every call, every day, regardless of the circumstances. But today’s incident demonstrates the reality of operating a growing emergency service with insufficient staffing and funding.
This isn’t politics.
It’s public safety.
