Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 3 p.m. (Boston time), Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201
Hearing on Docket #0400
The Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Councilor Santana, held a hearing on docket 0400 covering all City of Boston grants administered by the Boston Fire Department. Fire Commissioner Paul Burke, Deputy Commissioner Kevin Coyne, grants manager Julie Devon, and several division chiefs presented 13 active grants totaling over $4 million, including Assistance to Firefighters grants funding cancer screenings and wellness programs, a $1.7 million state training earmark, hazmat funding, port security grants, a carbon monoxide detector installation program, and pipeline emergency response training. Councilors asked about firefighter health and heart disease, FIFA World Cup preparedness, and battery energy storage system safety. Pending grants awaiting Council accept-and-expend include the FY25 port security grant and the newly received FY26 firefighter safety equipment grant. No public testimony was signed up, and the hearing was adjourned.
0:38 and.
2:29 Good afternoon.
2:31 For the record my name is henry
2:33 councilor and I'm the chair
2:33 santana at large city
2:35 of the boston city
2:36 council committee on public
2:38 safety and criminal justice.
2:40 Today is MARCH 31st 2026.
2:43 The exact time is 3:02 P.M..
2:45 This hearing is being recorded.
2:47 It is also being live streamed
2:50 at boston.Gov/city council dash
2:53 tv and broadcasted on any
2:55 channel eight rcn channel 82
2:58 and files channel 964.
3:00 Written comments MAY be sent to
3:04 the committee email ask the
3:05 stops@boston.Gov.
3:07 And will be made part of the
3:08 record and available to all
3:08 councilors.
3:10 Public testimony will be taken
3:12 at the end of this hearing.
3:14 Individuals will be called on
3:15 in the order in which they
3:16 signed up and will have two
3:17 minutes to testify.
3:19 If you are interested in
3:20 testifying in person, please
3:22 add your name to the sign up
3:23 sheet near the entrance of the
3:23 chamber.
3:25 If you are looking to testify
3:26 virtually, please email our
3:30 central staff liaison rom cobb
3:33 uh ron.Com uh boston.Gov for
3:35 the link and your name will be
3:35 added to the list.
3:38 Today's hearing is on docket
3:40 number 0400.
3:42 Order for a hearing regarding
3:44 all city of boston grants
3:45 administered by the boston fire
3:45 department.
3:48 This matter was sponsored by
3:50 myself and was referred to the
3:53 committee on FEBRUARY 26th,
3:53 2026.
3:56 Today I am joined by my
3:58 colleagues in order arrival
4:00 district two city councilor at
4:02 flynn and at-large city
4:03 councilor aaron murphy.
4:07 At this time, um I would like
4:09 to go to my colleagues, um for
4:10 opening um statements.
4:13 Um I will give um brief remarks
4:15 panel.
4:15 and then I'll introduce our
4:18 Um, with us here today.
4:19 So with that councilor flynn,
4:19 you have the floor.
4:24 Thank you, mr chair.
4:26 And thank you to the, um,
4:28 members of the boston fire
4:29 department for being here.
4:32 Uh, want to say thank you to
4:34 you, chair, for bringing us
4:36 together as as we discuss
4:38 critical grants that will
4:40 impact and support the boston
4:43 fire department, whether it's
4:45 support, whether it's upgrade
4:47 of technology, transportation,
4:49 whether it's for personnel
4:51 training, whether it's for a
4:52 hazmat material.
4:57 But, um, I'm here to support
4:58 these dockets.
4:59 Learn more about this
5:00 information.
5:02 Um also want to focus as we go
5:03 into the budget season.
5:07 How are we um, ensuring that
5:08 the health and wellness
5:09 of firefighters and their
5:13 families, um, is a top priority
5:14 for for all of us in this
5:15 budget process.
5:17 So I will stop there and um I'm
5:18 looking forward to hearing from
5:20 the, um, firefighters that are
5:20 present.
5:21 Thank you, mr chair.
5:22 thank you, councilor flynn.
5:25 Councilor murphy, you have the
5:26 floor.
5:27 Thank you.
5:27 chair.
5:29 Thank you to the fire
5:30 department for being here.
5:33 I have to admit, um, chair,
5:36 when you did this last year
5:39 when we called them in once and
5:40 we kind of talked through all
5:41 of the grants and we passed
5:42 them all.
5:44 I felt like it MAY, um, you
5:46 know, kind of stop our ability
5:47 to kind of meet with them
5:48 throughout the year.
5:49 But I do just want to highlight
5:52 that everyone in the fire
5:53 department from the
5:54 commissioner all the way down
5:55 is always so responsive.
5:56 So even though today we're
5:58 going to get an overview of all
6:00 the essential important grants
6:02 that go through the fire
6:04 department, I know that this is
6:06 not our only opportunity to
6:06 connect.
6:07 So I just want to say that
6:09 because I know it's not um,
6:10 like other departments where
6:12 each time a grant comes up we
6:12 kind of call you in.
6:13 So thank you for doing that.
6:16 I also just want to highlight
6:19 how important it is that you
6:21 know the city wouldn't run the
6:22 departments would not run if
6:24 the grant makers and those in
6:26 the finance department aren't
6:28 writing these grants looking
6:30 for these grants and I know
6:31 we'll hear more about them.
6:32 But these grants are essential
6:34 to the safety of our
6:35 firefighters, to the safety
6:36 of the public.
6:39 So just looking forward to
6:40 supporting all of these but
6:41 learning more.
6:42 So thank you for being here.
6:42 Thank you chair.
6:44 Thank you councilor murphy.
6:47 we've also been joined by
6:47 councilor fitzgerald.
6:49 Um councilor fitzgerald if you
6:50 want to, um, offer brief
6:52 opening remarks you have the
6:52 floor.
6:53 Thank you all for being here.
6:54 I hope to get the money that
6:55 you need to continue doing the
6:56 great job you do.
6:56 Thank you.
6:56 Chair.
6:57 There you go.
6:58 Quick and efficient.
7:02 Um, our fire department, um,
7:03 keeps our residents and our
7:04 infrastructure safe.
7:06 They're a team of dedicated
7:07 professionals whose work goes
7:08 beyond firefighting.
7:10 Our firefighters work
7:11 tirelessly on fire prevention.
7:13 Carbon monoxide safety.
7:14 Excuse me.
7:17 .
7:17 And emergency medical services
7:18 The grants that will be
7:20 discussed today help them
7:21 fulfill all parts of their
7:21 duties.
7:22 And I look forward to hearing
7:24 from our panelists from the
7:24 fire department.
7:27 Um, and um, to all of our
7:29 panelists and um, the folks in
7:29 the room.
7:31 Um, I just really want thank
7:32 you for your service to the
7:33 city of boston and to our
7:33 residents.
7:36 Um, with that I would like to
7:37 now introduce um today's
7:38 panelists.
7:41 Um, with us here today we have
7:42 paul burke who is the fire
7:44 commissioner chief of the
7:44 department.
7:47 Um, rodney marshall chief
7:48 of operations with support
7:49 support services.
7:51 patrick ellis, chief
7:52 of operations with the field
7:53 services.
7:55 Kevin coyne, deputy
7:55 commissioner.
7:57 Um administration and finance.
7:58 And julie devon.
8:00 Um financial grants manager.
8:02 Um with administration and
8:03 finance grants unit.
8:07 Um we are also joined by the um
8:08 white people below.
8:10 Um but that are not part of the
8:11 panelists want to acknowledge
8:12 um fire marshal.
8:14 Um such deputy chief um,
8:16 colleen kelly with the fire
8:17 prevention division deputy
8:20 chief jody shay with the
8:21 safety, health and wellness
8:21 division.
8:23 Deputy chief scott malone um,
8:24 with the training division.
8:26 District chief john mcdonald.
8:28 Um with the training division
8:31 district chief um keith kelly
8:32 with the special operations
8:34 command and shauna lynch.
8:36 Um, the programmatic grants
8:37 manager um with the
8:38 administration and finance
8:39 grants unit.
8:41 So, um, thank you all for being
8:41 here.
8:43 And I'll turn over the floor to
8:45 you all, um, for your opening
8:46 remarks and statements.
8:48 Thank you.
8:49 CHAIRMAN.
8:51 today is very important for
8:53 us because we all know, um,
8:55 grants are harder to get now
8:57 and, uh, there's two I just
8:59 want to talk about right away
9:00 real quickly and then I'm going
9:02 to pass it to the rest of the
9:03 subject matter experts here.
9:05 The assistance of firefighters
9:07 grant is $1.2 million and
9:08 that's the one that does the
9:09 cancer screening and keeps us
9:10 safe.
9:12 Without that it's a lot
9:13 of money to come up with to do
9:14 that.
9:15 And we had uh I think the
9:17 numbers chief will tell us how
9:19 many people tested positive
9:20 just for screening that this
9:22 was paid for last year and then
9:24 the training earmarked for $1.7
9:25 million.
9:26 Training is a constant with the
9:27 fire department.
9:28 It makes us the best fire
9:30 department in the country and
9:32 hopefully we can continue to
9:33 keep this money coming in.
9:35 So I'd like to pass the floor
9:37 over to kevin coyne, the chief
9:37 of finance.
9:39 Thank you commissioner.
9:40 Uh thank you everybody.
9:42 Thank you council santana for
9:44 hosting this again and the
9:45 today.
9:45 councils that are with us
9:47 I know last year this as a
9:47 council.
9:49 Murphy said this was somewhat
9:50 of a different unique process
9:51 to you know, kind of put all
9:53 of the grants before the
9:54 council at one time and you
9:56 know, I think there was some
9:57 confusion throughout the year
9:58 with this but you know, it
9:59 really was an efficient way to
10:00 handle this.
10:02 So I'm hoping that we can get
10:03 the same level of review today
10:04 these grants as the
10:06 commissioner said, uh, vitally
10:07 important to the operations
10:09 of the finance of the boston
10:10 fire department training,
10:11 cancer screening everything
10:13 every grant we do regardless
10:13 of how small.
10:16 Um is super important to the
10:17 ongoing efficiency and
10:18 effectiveness of the
10:18 department.
10:20 Um, I can't take credit for it.
10:23 Um, the most of the work in the
10:24 grants committee goes to julie
10:26 with me today.
10:26 devon and chantal insula here
10:28 Um, all of the other subject
10:29 matter experts that are with
10:30 me today.
10:31 The other ones that are kind
10:32 of on the ground managing these
10:33 things day to day.
10:35 There's a tremendous amount
10:36 of work that goes on behind the
10:38 scenes to make sure that we're
10:39 compliant with federal and
10:41 state agencies for reporting
10:42 and building these things out
10:43 appropriately.
10:44 And we also have somebody that
10:46 works in a grant writing as a
10:47 consultant with us who's been
10:48 working for the fire department
10:48 for many years.
10:51 Her skills are just impeccable
10:53 from these grants.
10:53 in terms of securing this money
10:55 So look forward to, you know,
10:57 answering the questions today.
10:58 Certainly if there's something
10:59 that you know comes up and
11:00 we're not able to address it
11:01 will be able to get the
11:02 information for you and bring
11:04 it back to the council.
11:05 Thank you all.
11:06 Thank you.
11:12 Okay.
11:12 Pass it over to joe.
11:12 yeah.
11:14 I don't jle.
11:18 Can you help me with the
11:18 slides?
11:19 I think there.
11:19 There you go.
11:19 Yeah.
11:19 Please.
11:20 Uh.
11:21 there we go.
11:22 Um, yeah.
11:23 Um.
11:25 Good afternoon, chair santana.
11:26 Thank you for having us.
11:29 Um, I want to give you a high
11:30 level presentation of the
11:32 grants that the fire department
11:34 currently has and historically
11:34 applies for.
11:37 So right now the department has
11:39 13 active awards, eight
11:41 of which are federal, five
11:43 of which are state funded and
11:44 they total more than $4
11:45 million.
11:49 Mhm.
11:52 Up until MARCH 21st we were
11:54 administering two assistant for
11:56 firefighter grants funded by
11:57 dhs and fema.
11:59 As the commissioner stated,
11:59 the.
12:01 goal of these funds is to
12:02 enhance the safety of the
12:04 public and firefighters with
12:05 respect to fire and fire
12:06 related hazards.
12:08 These funds have supported
12:10 officer training and
12:11 development, fire ground
12:14 survival training,
12:15 cancer screenings, a registered
12:18 dietitian, an injury prevention
12:19 specialist and have supported
12:21 our health and ladders program
12:23 which is a nutritional
12:24 counseling comprehensive injury
12:27 prevention program comprised
12:29 of bfd members with training or
12:31 certifications in areas such as
12:33 fitness, nutrition or sports
12:33 medicine.
12:38 Under this award that just
12:40 expired those funds allowed us
12:45 to screen 587 members by
12:47 dermatologists and that
12:49 resulted in 94 members needing
12:52 referrals for further treatment
12:54 and three possible cases
12:55 of melanoma.
12:57 In addition.
13:00 We were able to conduct over
13:01 700 screenings.
13:04 Um, we partnered with a
13:07 cancer screening company who
13:08 maintained hipaa compliance
13:08 data.
13:12 Um, we did a nine organ scam.
13:16 We also did low dose chest
13:18 scans with calcium scoring and
13:19 a comprehensive blood panel.
13:23 Um, in addition to the grant
13:25 funds, the budget of office
13:28 managed, the obm also allowed
13:31 us to reallocate $100,000
13:33 within our budget to support
13:33 additional screenings.
13:41 And as a result, 1598 total
13:43 actionable findings were
13:44 reported by the screening
13:44 company.
13:48 Of those, 637 were high risk
13:52 and 413 were cardiovascular
13:52 findings.
13:54 Um I found out just this week
13:57 that as of JANUARY 1st of this
13:58 year there have been three
14:01 heart attacks on duty two
14:02 of which required cpr.
14:05 Um hmm.
14:06 Um.
14:08 As I said, these members that
14:10 went through this screening are
14:12 protected by hipaa, but we have
14:13 been given anecdotal
14:15 information from some of the
14:17 members by way of our um, sworn
14:18 subject matter experts.
14:20 When members.
14:21 One member's.
14:23 Wife thanked us for offering
14:25 the testing because she
14:26 attributed her husband's life
14:28 being saved because this
14:30 program found a high risk issue
14:31 that MAY not otherwise have
14:34 been detected and it allowed
14:34 for proactive treatment.
14:39 In addition to the robust
14:39 cancer screenings conducted
14:41 with these funds, the
14:43 department was also able to
14:45 engage with the iaf to conduct
14:46 fireground survival training.
14:51 Iaf trained 34 of our training
14:51 instructors.
14:56 Which allowed them to become
14:57 certified to teach the
14:58 lifesaving techniques to all
15:01 sworn members of the department
15:04 and 1400 over 1400 sworn
15:06 members were trained in
15:07 fireground survival.
15:10 The benefit of having our
15:12 instructors trained in this
15:14 technique allow us to continue
15:15 offering this skill to future
15:17 members of the department and
15:19 to refresh the skills of our
15:21 current members by
15:21 incorporating.
15:23 Um the fireground survival.
15:25 In future training sessions.
15:29 Uh I've been told firefighter
15:31 training skills are considered
15:33 perishable because they are
15:35 often learned through practical
15:36 experience and hands on
15:38 training skills become less
15:40 effective if not regularly
15:40 practiced.
15:42 So the incorporation of fire
15:44 ground survival funded under
15:46 this grant within a life fire
15:49 scenario with mayday and self
15:51 extrication scenarios allows
15:52 for our members to have
15:54 continued on hand hands on
15:55 practical application.
16:02 Um our current afg grant which
16:05 the commissioner mentioned
16:07 expires in SEPTEMBER of 2026.
16:08 It totals.
16:10 $1.2 million.
16:12 um and it can it funds.
16:13 Continued support of the
16:15 department's in-house wellness
16:16 program health and ladders.
16:20 Um that program aims to
16:21 physically and mentally prepare
16:22 our members through education
16:24 and nutrition, fitness and
16:24 recovery.
16:29 This grant program funds a
16:31 clinical director nutritionist.
16:35 Um and actually by way