Executive Order  No. 37: Establishing 14 fire mobilization districts and Civil Defense fire fighting system

WHEREAS, the organization of voluntary mutual aid systems among the fire departments of the cities, towns and districts of the Commonwealth has reached such stage of development that is practicable and desirable and in the best interests of the Civil Defense program of the Commonwealth, to begin to utilize such voluntary mutual aid systems as the basis for mobilization of fire fighting forces during periods of emergency declared by the Governor; and

WHEREAS, such utilization of said voluntary mutual aid systems will permit more rapid and effective mobilization of fire fighting forces during such periods of emergency and, in addition, strengthen and encourage systems of voluntary mutual aid among fire departments for purposes of non-disaster fire fighting, thus improving both the plan and program for the Civil Defense of the Commonwealth and the fire protection normally afforded to the inhabitants thereof:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Foster Furcolo, Governor of the Commonwealth, acting under the provisions of Acts of 1950, chapter 639, as amended, and in particular, sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 11(e), 16 and 20 thereof, and all other enabling authority, do hereby issue this order as a necessary preparatory step in advance of actual disaster and as part of the comprehensive plan and program for the Civil Defense of the Commonwealth.

1. There are hereby established the following fire mobilization districts composed of the cities and towns indicated:

No. 1. Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, Eastham, Edgartown, Falmouth, Gay Head, Gosnold, Harwich, Mashpee, Nantucket, Oak Bluffs, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Tisbury, Truro, Wellfleet, West Tisbury and Yarmouth.

No. 2. Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Middleboro, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Rockland, Wareham, West Bridgewater, Whitman.

No. 3. Acushnet, Attleboro, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton and Westport.

No. 4. Avon, Bellingham, Braintree, Canton, Cohasset, Dover, Easton, Foxborough, Franklin, Hingham, Holbrook, Hull, Mansfield, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Norwood, Randolph, Scituate, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, Weymouth and Wrentham.

No. 5. Amesbury, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lawrence, Lynn, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Nahant, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Peabody, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, Swampscott, Topsfield, Wenham, West Newbury.

No. 6. Andover, Ayer, Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Lowell, North Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Shirley, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Wakefield, Westford, Wilmington, Woburn.

No. 7. Auburn, Blackstone, Brookfield, Charlton, Douglas, Dudley, East Brookfield, Grafton, Hopedale, Leicester, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northboro, Northbridge, North Brookfield, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Warren, Webster, Westboro, West Brookfield, Worcester.

No. 8. Ashburnham, Ashby, Barre, Berlin, Bolton, Boylston, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Hardwick, Harvard, Holden, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, New Braintree, Oakham, Paxton, Petersham, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Rutland, Sterling, Templeton, Townsend, West Boylston, Westminster and Winchendon.

No. 9. Ashfield, Athol, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Gill, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Erving, Leverett, Leyden, Monroe, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Plainfield, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, Sunderland, Warwick, Wendell, Whately.

No. 10. Amherst, Belchertown, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Huntington, Middlefield, Northampton, Pelham, Southampton, South Hadley, Ware, Williamsburg, Westhampton, Worthington.

No. 11. Agawam, Blandford, Brimfield, Chester, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Granville, Hampden, Holland, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Monson, Montgomery, Palmer, Russell, Southwick, Springfield, Tolland, Wales, Westfield, West Springfield, Wilbraham.

No. 12. Adams, Alford, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Egremont, Florida, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Ashford, New Marlborough, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Stockbridge, Savoy, Sheffield, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge, Williamstown, Windsor.

No. 13. Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham, Everett, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley, Winchester, Winthrop.

No. 14. Acton, Ashland, Boxborough, Concord, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lincoln, Marlborough, Maynard, Natick, Sherborn, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, Weston.

2. For purposes of mobilization of fire-fighting forces, the several fire mobilization districts shall be regarded as lying within the following Civil Defense areas as indicated:

Area 1. Nos. 5, 6, 13 and 14.

Area 2. Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Area 3. Nos. 7 and 8.

Area 4. Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12.

3. In each fire mobilization district, there shall be a district fire mobilization director (hereinafter called the district director) who shall be appointed by the State Director of Civil Defense from among the Chief Executive Officers of the Fire Departments within the fire mobilization district and who may be removed by said Director of Civil Defense. During a state of emergency declared under the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended, a district director is hereby authorized to order any city, town, or fire district within the fire mobilization district to send firefighting assistance to any other city, town or fire district within the same fire mobilization district, for the purpose of combating the effects of the disaster on account of which the state of emergency has been declared or for the purpose of covering for firefighting forces of the other city, town or fire district which have been ordered elsewhere on account of such disaster, provided, however, that such assistance shall be ordered to be sent to any city, town or fire district only upon request of the Chief Executive Officer of the Fire Department of such city, town or fire district or upon the request of a person exercising the powers and performing the duties of said Chief Executive Officer. A city, town or fire district receiving such order is hereby authorized and directed to send firefighting assistance in accordance therewith, it being the intention hereby to exercise through the directors of the several fire mobilization districts the authority conferred upon the Governor by Section 11(c) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended. The authority hereby conferred upon the several district directors may be exercised by them by means of plans for the automatic dispatch, when authorized by this Order, of firefighting personnel and equipment. All movements of personnel or equipment carried out pursuant to this section, shall be reported forthwith by the district director to the area fire director of the Civil Defense area in which the district lies as specified in Section 2 of this Order.

4. In each Civil Defense area, there shall be an area fire mobilization director (hereinafter called the area fire director) who shall be appointed by the State Director of Civil Defense from among the Chief Executive Officers of the Fire Departments within the area and who may be removed by said Director of Civil Defense. During a state of emergency declared under the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended, the are fire director is hereby authorized to order the mobilization and dispatch of firefighting assistance from any fire mobilization district in his area, as specified in Section 2 of this Order, to any fire mobilization district in his area, upon request of the District Director thereof, for the purpose of combating the effects of the disaster on account of which the state of emergency has been declared or for the purpose of covering for firefighting forces which have been ordered out of the fire mobilization district receiving assistance on account of such disaster. The district director receiving such order is hereby authorized and directed to mobilize and dispatch firefighting assistance in accordance with the order of the area fire director, and any city, town or fire district ordered by the district director to provide such assistance, or any part thereof, is hereby authorized and directed to provide such assistance in accordance with such order, it being the intention hereby to exercise through the several area fire directors the authority conferred upon the Governor by Section 11 (c) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended. The authority hereby conferred upon the several area fire directors may be exercised by them by means of plans for the automatic dispatch, when authorized by this Order, of fire fighting personnel and equipment. All movements of personnel or equipment carried out pursuant to this section, shall be reported forthwith by the area fire director to the State Director of Civil Defense.

5. During a state of emergency declared under the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended, the State Director of Civil Defense is hereby authorized to order the mobilization and dispatch of fire fighting assistance from any civil defense area to any other civil defense area, upon the request of the area fire director therof, for the purpose of combating the effects of the disaster on account of which the state of emergency has been declared or for the purpose of covering for fire fighting forces which have been ordered out of the civil defense area receiving assistance on account of such disaster. An area fire director receiving such order is hereby authorized and directed to mobilize and dispatch fire fighting assistance from any fire mobilization district in his area in accordance with the order of the State Director, and a city, town or fire district ordered to provide such assistance, or any part thereof, is hereby authorized and directed to provide such assistance in accordance with such order, it being the intention hereby to exercise through the State Director of Civil Defense the authority conferred upon the Governor by Section 11 (c) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended. The authority hereby conferred upon the State Director of Civil Defense may be exercised by him by means of plans for the automatic dispatch, when authorized by this Order, of fire fighting personnel and equipment. The authority conferred upon district directors and area fire directors, respectively, by Sections 3 and 4 of this Order shall be exercised subject to the direction and control of the State Director of Civil Defense or his authorized representative.

6. Fire fighting personnel or equipment dispatched to a city, town or fire district pursuant to any provision of this Order shall be under the command and control of the Chief Executive Officer of the fire department of said city, town or fire district or under the command of a person exercising the powers and performing the duties of said Chief Executive Officer.

7. Any person exercising authority conferred by any provision of this Order to order firefighting forces dispatched from a city, town or fire district shall, in exercising such authority, give due regard to the maintenance of reasonable fire protection in said city, town or fire district.

8. Nothing contained in this order shall prevent dispatch of firefighting assistance to a city, town or fire district, or to a fire mobilization district or to a Civil Defense area, without a request therefor, provided that the person dispatching such assistance shall reasonably believe that such assistance is required in all the circumstances known to the person dispatching such assistance and provided further that such person shall reasonably believe that a request for such assistance has not been made because of the circumstances then existing.

9. The provisions of Section 11 (c) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended, shall apply to fire- fighting personnel and equipment dispatched under the authority of this Order but shall not apply to such personnel or equipment dispatched under the provisions of G. L. c. 48 s. 59A or any act in amendment therof/or succession thereto.

10. Unless otherwise specified in the Order requiring the dispatch of firefighting personnel, auxiliary firemen may be dispatched for service under the authority of this Order and auxiliary firemen so dispatched, or called to stand-by duty within their respective cities, towns or fire districts to cover for regular personnel dispatched to another city, town or fire district under the authority hereof, shall be deemed to be performing duty for the purpose of Section 11A of Chapter 639, as amended, of the Acts of 1950.

11. The State Director of Civil Defense, in consultation with area fire directors and district directors, may order or authorize such training exercises as he may deem appropriate for the purpose of implementing this Order. Any such training exercise ordered or authorized by the State Director shall be deemed to be an exercise ordered or authorized by him within the meaning of Section 11 (e) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950 as inserted by Chapter 684 of the Acts of 1957. Auxiliary firemen participating in such training exercise shall be deemed to be performing training for the purpose of Section 11A of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended.

12. To the extent the provisions of Executive Order No. 27 may be inconsistent herewith, as applied to mobilization of firefighting forces, this Order shall supersede such provisions of Executive Order No. 27.

13. The State Director of Civil Defense is authorized to designate within each fire mobilization district a fire mobilization control center and to make changes in such designation from time to time as he may deem appropriate. The State Director of Civil Defense is further authorized subject to the availability of funds, to install, maintain and operate, at the expense of the Commonwealth, such control center communication facilities as he may deem necessary or appropriate to the implementation of this Order.

14. Nothing contained in this Order shall be deemed to interfere with the operation of mutual aid systems entered into between cities, towns or fire districts under any applicable provision of law.

15. Nothing contained in this Order shall be construed to interfere with the carrying out of any evacuation plan authorized under Executive Order No. 31, provided, however, that firefighting forces evacuated or dispersed out of a city, town or fire district shall be subject to the orders of the Director of the fire mobilization district to which such firefighting forces may be evacuated or dispersed.

16. The State Director of Civil Defense is hereby authorized to make changes in the fire mobilization districts established by this Order, by increasing or decreasing the number thereof (and to make appointments or terminations of District Fire Mobilization Directors made necessary thereby), by transferring any city or town from one district to another, by designating or changing the designation of the area within which any fire mobilization district shall be deemed to lie, or by making any other change in said fire mobilization districts that said Director of Civil Defense may deem necessary or appropriate. Any such change so made by the State Director of Civil Defense shall be duly published and a record thereof shall be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth as soon thereafter as may be practicable.

17. Nothing contained in this Order shall be construed to terminate or prevent the utilization of, fire battalions, so-called, formed under the authority of the Civil Defense Act prior to the effective date of this Order. The organization and utilization, prior to the issuance of this Order, of such fire battalions in accordance with provisions of Section 11 (C) of Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, as amended, is hereby ratified and confirmed, provided, however, that where such battalions are presently organized on the basis of the Civil Defense sectors established by Executive Order No. 34, such battalions shall be reorganized on the basis of the districts established by this Order. Subsequent to the issuance of this Order, the utilization and training of said battalions as so organized or reorganized shall be in accordance with the provisions hereof. A district fire director may mobilize and utilize any fire battalion established in his district in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of this Order. An area fire director may mobilize and utilize any fire battalion established in his area in accordance with the provisions of Section 4 of this Order. The State Director of Civil Defense may mobilize and utilize any fire battalion established in the Commonwealth in accordance with Section 5 of this Order. The training of all such battalions shall be as authorized by the State Director of Civil Defense under Section 8 of this Order.

GIVEN at the Executive Chamber in Boston this eighth day of December, in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixty and of the Independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and eighty-fifth.

By His Excellency the Governor, FOSTER FURCOLO

JOSEPH D. WARD

Secretary of the Commonwealth