Published on 1/23/2008 TheDay.com
By Katie Warchut

Groton — The fire that destroyed Ken's Tackle Shop in the City of Groton two weeks ago renewed the possibility of a communitywide fire-protection study and served as a first test of Groton's new Reverse911-capable emergency systems.

Two years ago, the Town Council rejected a fire-protection analysis after councilors decided they didn't want to get into the business of firefighting, which is currently governed by nine separate fire districts. But the council's public-safety committee Tuesday decided it's time to broach the subject of a study with the town's fire chiefs.

Councilor Jim Streeter, whose sister Dorothy Streeter owned Ken's Tackle Shop, admitted his reasons for going forward are personal, saying, “we should determine if the town is providing adequate services throughout the town.”

The main obstacle to agreeing on a fire-protection study has been the perception that the town controls the fire districts.

In 2003, the Poquonnock Bridge district asked the town to take over the district, according to the district's chief, Todd Paige, who attended the meeting. Many residents and businesses in the district, which includes about 12,000 people, or 30 percent of the town's residents, find they face more challenges than other fire districts.

Consolidation, though, would not be a goal of any study.

“I see it as an opportunity to learn what is happening district to district and how to improve services,” Paige said, adding that the districts already work together with respect to training, procedures, and communications.

If a study were approved, it should include what the minimum requirements are for responding to a fire, Councilor Heather Sherman Bond said.

That has been a hot topic for the city's fire department, which has repeatedly asked for more full-time firefighters and implored the City Council to study the need for more staffing. Those requests have been denied due to ongoing contract negotiations.

Any study would also include an assessment of the number of volunteers in each district, which is reportedly declining. The public-safety committee also plans to again discuss offering tax credits to volunteer firefighters as an incentive.

The fire at Ken's Tackle Shop showed the success of Reverse911, which the town installed in October. In one minute, it contacted 16 Community Emergency Response Team members who started arriving at the temporary shelter at the City Municipal Building 10 minutes later.

The Reverse911 system also sent a recorded message to 193 residents and businesses in the area of Thames Street that within half an hour power would be returned to the area briefly before going off again for the demolition of the burned building.

To register a phone number in the system, visit the town's Web site at www.town.groton.ct.us/.