About Abington Firefighters Local 2080

Mission Statement
The mission of the Abington Firefighters Local 2080, established on 27 August, 1971, is to improve the lives of our hard working men and women and to bring economic stability and equality to the workplace. To accomplish this mission we strive toward a cohesive professional relationship with the Town Of Abington to provide the best fire service possible to the citizens of Abington.

As first responders to various types of fires, public safety hazards, medical emergencies, natural disasters and terrorist acts, the Abington Firefighters Local 2080 protects the lives and property of the town's residents and visitors. The Department advances public safety through its fire prevention, investigation and education programs. The timely delivery of these services enables the Abington Firefighters Local 2080 to make significant contributions to the safety of the Town Of Abington and the surrounding communities.

News & Information

Firefighters On the Defensive

Apr 25, 2020
Abington firefighters are using their training and taking a more cautious approach when responding to calls during the COVID-19 pandemic

Apr 25, 2020

Abington’s first responders take cautious approach on the COVID-19 frontlines

A firefighter’s instinct is to roll up to a call and rush towards the problem. But the rules have changed in recent weeks, as first responders find themselves on the front lines in the nation’s battle with COVID-19.

“We’re being much more defensive,” said Abington Fire Chief John Nuttall. “We’re used to rushing in and flooding the situation with manpower.”

Today, when they arrive to check on a report of smoke or to investigate a fire alarm, only one or two firefighters are going in. And before they do, they’re donning gloves, masks and a face shield.

“They’re dressed up as if it’s a medical call,” Nuttal said. “We’re assuming everybody has [the virus] because you have to.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected hundreds of thousands nationally, including first responders. Abington has recorded 78 positive cases, with 63 currently active. Fortunately, for Abington’s firefighters, who also serve as the town’s paramedics, the squad has been able to remain healthy.

“We have transported a few that turned out to be positive later on,” he said, adding that the department has had no exposures. “But we had all the appropriate personal protective equipment in place, so our people felt safe doing it.”

Firefighter Justin Silva, Abington’s EMS coordinator, said the department has been training for an outbreak like this for years.

“We’ve always been preparing for a pandemic, whether SARS or the swine flu,” he said. “We’ve always had the mindset it could happen. This time it did happen.”

As recently as last May the department had trained on how to properly put on and remove personal protective equipment, known as PPE. And when the virus started exploding in January, Abington firefighters quickly took a refresher course.

“We definitely owe it to the community to be prepared,” said Silva.

To prevent residents from feeling alarmed when they arrive wearing protective equipment, the department recently posted photos of firefighters wearing the equipment on its Facebook page.

Despite the increase in COVID-19-related cases, Abington firefighters have actually seen a decrease in overall calls over the past month. With people working from home and businesses closed, there’s been fewer motor vehicle accidents and false alarms. And in some cases, Nuttall said, people have been more reluctant to call 911 because they don’t want to go to the emergency room.

“Everything has kind of slowed down in general,” he said.

Firefighters are finding it tough to stay socially distant in the town’s stations, where they rest, eat, and sleep in close quarters.

“We share a lot of common spaces. It’s like trying to be socially distant with your own family in your own house,” said Silva.

To protect everyone’s health, Silva said every firefighter undergoes a health screening at least once a shift, and self-monitor when at home.

“We pay very close attention to everyone’s health,” he said.

Nuttall said firefighters are constantly cleaning the fire stations, including disinfecting commonly touched areas such as doorknobs, light switches and phone receivers every hour.

“The stations have never been cleaner,” he said.

One key to the department’s safety has been its supply of personal protective equipment — including face shields, masks, gloves. The department has received a shipment of materials from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and currently has what it needs.

However, Silva added it was the town of Abington’s generosity that put the town on good footing as the pandemic first broke.

“The community was super generous in donating masks, face shields, and even M95 masks,” he said. Silva estimated that the department received around 20 M95 masks and 300 surgical masks from donors, as well as 20 faceshields from South Shore Vocational Technical High School.

“We’re doing pretty good with our stock,” said Chief Nuttall, adding, “but that could be wiped out immediately if we’re not careful. This is why we’re gearing up one person, maybe two, so we don’t waste that gear if not needed.”

Personal Protective Equipment to Fire and EMS Departments

Apr 17, 2020
An April 11 report in The Washington Post confirms what many IAFF affiliates and local jurisdictions have been experiencing firsthand for some time – that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has failed to secure, prioritize and deliver adequate supplies of N95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to fire and EMS departments.

Apr 17, 2020

An April 11 report in The Washington Post confirms what many IAFF affiliates and local jurisdictions have been experiencing firsthand for some time – that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has failed to secure, prioritize and deliver adequate supplies of N95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to fire and EMS departments.

Despite daily assurances from FEMA, the supply chain for these desperately needed resources is not reaching fire departments at the local level. The Post’s report describes the chaotic and overlapping efforts to acquire and distribute medical supplies across the country as FEMA is routinely jumping into private transactions, either at the front end by overruling a purchase or seizing it when it’s being transported to whatever hospital or state purchased it.

There is more than $95 billion in disaster relief available to FEMA to fight this pandemic, but instead of sending supplies to hot spots across the country or other municipalities in low or short supply, FEMA is delivering supplies to medical distributors for resale, and those distributors are marking up supplies to unaffordable price levels for jurisdictions.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently conducted a survey to measure shortages of COVID-19 emergency equipment. Responses were received from 213 cities across 41 states and Puerto Rico. Results shows that most cities do not have and cannot obtain adequate equipment and supplies needed.

91.5% (192) of the cities do not have an adequate supply of facemasks for their first responders (including police, fire and EMTs) and medical personnel.
88.2% (186) do not have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) other than facemasks to protect these workers.
92.1% (186) do not have an adequate supply of test kits.
85% (164) do not have an adequate supply of ventilators for use by health facilities in their city or area.
62.4% (131) have not received emergency equipment or supplies from their state. Of those receiving help from their State, 84.6% (66) say it is not adequate to meet their needs.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on our members across the United States and Canada. Thousands have tested positive for the virus, at least three fire fighters have died in the line of duty, nearly 6,000 have been placed under quarantine and another 4,500 have been isolated, with numbers rising each day.

In March, the IAFF was assured that representatives from FEMA and the Health and Human Services Healthcare Resilience Task Force had established that fire and EMS agencies are at the same level of priority for PPE as hospitals and healthcare facilities. Yet by his own admission, the head of the COVID-19 Supply Chain Resilience Task Force, Rear Admiral John Polowczyk, fire and EMS agencies are not at that same level of priority.

In an April 4 White House Coronavirus Task Force Meeting, he said when referring to the distribution supply chain, “We’re geographically aligning the supply chain … down to the county level … and then aligning it by priorities of point of care: public hospitals first, VA hospitals, private hospitals, nursing homes, first responders, acute care” – clearly not the same priority.

Per FEMA’s plan, we advised affiliates to report inventory and PPE burn rates and to coordinate with local emergency management offices and state emergency management agencies on requests for PPE.

On April 10, the IAFF alerted local leaders to FEMA’s failure deliver adequate PPE and urged affiliates to help us hold FEMA accountable by telling their story to local media about the dire need for supplies in your fire department.

The IAFF is available to help tell these stories of locals working without adequate PPE. Contact IAFF Director of Strategic Campaigns and Media Relations Doug Stern at dstern@iaff.org for assistance.

Stay updated on COVID-19 resources and guidance for IAFF members at www.iaff.org/coronavirus.

Passing of Retired Fire Captain Winthrop H. Patten

Apr 14, 2020
The Abington Fire Department regrets to announce the passing of retired Fire Captain Winthrop H. Patten.

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Abington Firefighters IAFF Local 2080

The Abington Fire Fighters Local 2080 is a permanent firefighters union with 25 members, located in Abington, Massachusetts.

About Abington Firefighters Local 2080

News & Information

Firefighters On the Defensive

Personal Protective Equipment to Fire and EMS Departments

Passing of Retired Fire Captain Winthrop H. Patten

Image Gallery

In Our Community

Charities

Get In Touch

If you have any questions contact us below.

Abington Firefighters IAFF Local 2080

The Abington Fire Fighters Local 2080 is a permanent firefighters union with 25 members, located in Abington, Massachusetts.

About Abington Firefighters Local 2080

News & Information

Firefighters On the Defensive

Firefighters On the Defensive

Abington’s first responders take cautious approach on the COVID-19 frontlines

Personal Protective Equipment to Fire and EMS Departments

Personal Protective Equipment to Fire and EMS Departments

Passing of Retired Fire Captain Winthrop H. Patten

Passing of Retired Fire Captain Winthrop H. Patten

Image Gallery

In Our Community

Charities

Get In Touch

If you have any questions contact us below.

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