posted to misc lists 6/14/2014
Boston Massachusetts area public safety staffing - 2014
Every on duty person has a portable 2 way radio (except maybe on private ambulances)
Ambulances have crews of 2 people
Police cars are staffed by one person - except that maybe 30% of Boston PD units have 2 people - maybe 30% of Cambridge PD units have 2 people - maybe some detectives travel in pairs
Fire department vehicles are staffed by 3 people - except that Boston has 4 people per unit - Malden FD might have 4 people per unit - Brookline FD might have 4 people per unit
Exceptions - Cambridge R1 also serves as an ambulance at times - it has a 3 or 4 person crew - crash trucks at Logan Airport might have 1 or 2 person crews - Boston Fire Rescues, Towers, and Boats might have 5 person crews - Winthrop and Woburns FDs operate some units with 2 people - Boston FD might have a couple of special units with just 1 person (TacCom, Special Unit, Air Supply Unit, Rehab Unit) - Boston EMS might operate a Tango unit with just 1 person (small rescue truck) - MassPort Police might have just 1 person on their rescue truck - Highway Rescue Trucks downtown might just have 1 person (ERS) - ALS transfer trucks might have 3 person crews (private ambulance companys or MedFlight or Childrens Hospital) - Lincoln FD and Weston FD might staff some extra units with pager equipped offduty employees
Suburban PDs use offduty detectives to handle investigations outside of 9 to 5 on weekdays - SWAT and special units typically use oncall staff - suburban FDs & PDs use oncall chief officers outside of weekdays for major incidents