Norwood Firefighters Local 1631

06/07/2026

In 1985, Norwood Fire responded to 3,543 calls with 60 firefighters. Today, the department responds to more than 7,000 calls annually with the exact same staffing level.

Modern fire departments are not measured solely by structure fires. Firefighters and paramedics respond to cardiac arrests, overdoses, serious motor vehicle crashes, hazardous materials incidents, technical rescues, public safety emergencies, fire prevention inspections, and thousands of EMS calls every year. Those emergencies are just as real, just as time-sensitive, and just as dependent on having enough personnel available to respond.

The claim that firefighting is only a small percentage of the job somehow justifies inadequate staffing completely misses the point. The public doesn’t call 911 for one type of emergency. They call for whatever emergency they are facing at that moment, and they expect a trained, properly staffed response.

What continues to get lost in these discussions is that staffing is about capability. It’s about having enough firefighters and paramedics available when multiple incidents happen simultaneously, when ambulances are tied up, when a cardiac arrest occurs during a building fire, or when residents need help at 2 PM or 2 AM.

The numbers don’t support the narrative being pushed by opponents of the public safety staffing override. Nearly three times the call volume. Hundreds of mutual aid requests. Increased EMS demand. Larger and more complex occupancies. Modern staffing standards. Yet staffing remains where it was decades ago.

At some point, facts have to outweigh opinions. The data is clear, the workload is clear, and the need is clear. Repeating the same talking points doesn’t change the reality that Norwood is asking essentially the same number of firefighters to protect a community facing far greater demands than it did fifty years ago.

We respectfully ask residents to support public safety on June 15th and vote YES for the Public Safety Override.

Fifty years of stagnant staffing and three times the workload isn’t a budget problem—it’s a public safety problem. The question isn’t whether Norwood can afford proper staffing. It’s whether Norwood can afford to keep pretending it doesn’t need it.

06/06/2026

The National Weather Service is forecasting the potential for severe thunderstorms this evening between 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM. Damaging winds, frequent lightning, and heavy rain are the primary threats.

Please stay weather aware and seek shelter indoors if storms approach.

If you encounter a downed power line, stay away and call 911 immediately. Always assume downed wires are energized.

Update:
⛈️Continued risk for severe storms this evening

🕛Best timeframe for storms: 6-11 PM. Few storms may linger through midnight.

🗺️Greatest risk: W/NW of I95 (Interior SNE).

⚠️Hazards: Damaging winds, lightning, heavy rain.

📱Stay weather aware.

06/04/2026

Yesterday, Norwood Ladder 1 was dispatched to the Town of Franklin to provide station coverage while Franklin firefighters operated at a 2nd Alarm structure fire.

While en route, the incident escalated rapidly, and a 3rd Alarm was struck. Ladder 1 was redirected to the scene, where Norwood firefighters assisted with fire suppression operations, overhaul, and locating and extinguishing hot spots for more than two hours.

As Ladder 1 operated in Franklin, off-duty Norwood firefighters were called back in to staff apparatus and ensure uninterrupted coverage for the residents of Norwood.

Incidents like this highlight the strength of the mutual aid system, which allows neighboring departments to work together seamlessly when emergencies grow beyond the resources of a single community.

Great work by the Franklin Fire Department and all the mutual aid companies operating at the scene.

06/03/2026

Norwood in 2026 is not the same community it was in 1975. Call volume has nearly tripled, emergency incidents have become more complex, and residents expect rapid, professional emergency response whenever they call 911. Voting Yes on the Public Safety Override on June 15th is about making sure the Fire Department has enough personnel available to meet those demands every day.

Over the last 50 years, Norwood's call volume has nearly tripled, while firefighter staffing has remained essentially unchanged.

Today, Norwood firefighters and paramedics respond to more than 7,000 emergencies annually, including cardiac arrests, overdoses, serious motor vehicle crashes, hazardous materials incidents, technical rescues, fires, and multiple incidents occurring at the same time.

Yet despite the growth in demand, the staffing increase proposed under the Public Safety Override would not create an oversized department.

In fact, even if the Public Safety Override passes, Norwood would only be brought to the minimum staffing levels recommended by NFPA 1710 for a routine single-family home fire WITHOUT a basment.

Think about that.

Not an apartment building fire.

Not a commercial building fire.

Not a hazardous materials incident.

Not a technical rescue.

Not multiple emergencies happening at the same time.

A routine single-family home fire.

After 50 years of increased call volume, increased responsibilities, increased training requirements, and increased community hazards, this proposal simply brings Norwood to the minimum staffing standard recognized by the fire service.

Not above the standard.

The minimum.

This is not about luxury. It is not about excess. It is about ensuring there are enough firefighters and paramedics available when multiple emergencies happen at once, when ambulances are tied up out of town, and when residents call 911 expecting help to arrive.

Voting Yes on the Public Safety Override is not asking Norwood to build one of the largest departments in Massachusetts.

It is asking Norwood to provide the minimum staffing necessary to meet the demands of the community in 2026 not the community of 1975.

06/03/2026

Our friend and Brother, Bobby Kilduff is gone. He died how he lived; in the service of others. Bobby would have loved his send off on Monday. It’s now time to honor him and rededicate ourselves in BK’s memory: to firstly, to our families and our faith but, let us do Bobby proud and rededicate ourselves to our profession and our unionism! BK defined Union Strong! Rest easy Marine, we have it from here!

06/01/2026

Today, members of the Norwood Fire Department had the honor of standing alongside thousands of firefighters from across Massachusetts and the nation to pay our final respects to Boston Firefighter Robert “BK” Kilduff Jr. of the Boston Fire Department, Rescue 2.

A 24-year BFD veteran, Marine Corps veteran, and third-generation firefighter, BK made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty while protecting others. Rest easy, BK. Your watch is complete. We will never forget your sacrifice

“Firemen are going to get killed. When they join the department they face that fact. When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work. They were not thinking of getting killed when they went where death lurked. They went there to put the fire out, and got killed. Firefighters do not regard themselves as heroes because they do what the business requires” -FDNY Chief Edward Croker speaking at the funeral of 5 firefighters killed in 1908

05/28/2026

Every day and night, the firefighters and paramedics of Norwood stand ready to answer whatever emergency comes next.

From fires and serious crashes to cardiac arrests, hazardous materials incidents, rescues, and multiple emergencies happening at once, they are there without hesitation for this community.

For 50 years, Norwood’s population, call volume, and hazards have continued to grow while firefighter staffing has remained unchanged.

Those 14 firefighters are responsible for protecting not only the homes and businesses of Norwood, but also:

• 5 nursing homes and multiple elderly housing complexes
• Large apartment developments and densely populated neighborhoods
• Industrial and bio-manufacturing facilities
• Two state highways carrying thousands of vehicles every day
• A municipal airport
• MBTA commuter rail and CSX freight lines
• More than 17 car dealerships and service centers
• 5 hotels
• Nearly two dozen gas and service stations
• Electrical and natural gas substations
• Schools, restaurants, commercial properties, and critical infrastructure throughout town

Public safety is more than a line item in a budget. It is making sure there are enough firefighters and paramedics available to answer the growing number of emergencies our community faces every single day.

The men and women of the Norwood Fire Department are proud to serve this community and will continue to give everything they have to protect this town, just as they always have.

On June 15th, support the people who answer the call when Norwood needs them most. Vote YES for Public Safety. Vote YES and choose to invest in the future of public safety, not continue the shortcomings of the past.

05/26/2026

Local 1631 would like to thank James Ahern Gold Crown Landscaping for the phenomenal landscaping job on Big Jake at Highland Cemetery. The cobblestone edging and much needed irrigation system are just what was needed to revitalize Jake. We could not be happier with Gold Crown Landscaping and Jame’s vision and professionalism; we highly recommend him.

05/24/2026

There are no words strong enough for the loss felt across the fire service today.

A family lost a loved one, a department lost a brother, and the fire service lost a firefighter who answered the call knowing the risks and serving anyway.

Please keep Firefighter Kilduff, his family, and the members of the Boston Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers.

Rest in peace, brother. We’ll take it from here