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130 Laid Off Firefighters Get Their Jobs Back

BOSTON – Nearly 130 firefighters across the state who were laid off because of budget cuts will be rehired, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday, as he announced the release of $8.2 million in federal stimulus funds to 13 local fire departments.

The money will bring back 44 firefighters in Fall River, restore 33 in New Bedford, and return 16 in Worcester, all of whom were laid off after those cities suffered shortfalls in local and state tax revenues. Additional communities will benefit, leading to the total of 127 firefighters across the state getting their jobs back.

“This is the best news I’ve had in seven months,’’ said Brian D. Rapoza, a Fall River firefighter laid off in March.

Rapoza was one of several layoff victims who met with Patrick in an impromptu meeting at the State House in April after hundreds of firefighters converged on Beacon Hill to call for stimulus dollars to restore their departments.

The governor said then that he heard their concerns but had limited power to help, with much of the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 already tied up by the federal government for specific programs and projects. But he carved out a total of $20 million for local fire department operating budgets, quickly attracting 87 applications from communities who wanted the assistance.

“I applaud the decision of the governor,’’ said Stephen D. Coan, the state’s fire marshal, who helped review the applications.

The first grants, released yesterday, restore firefighting positions in 13 communities deemed most in need, including Quincy, Walpole, Lawrence, and Lakeville.

The remaining $11.8 million will follow later this fall, in the second part of the grants, to fill positions in other communities that became vacant through budget-related attrition or to pay overtime needed to staff vehicles and shifts.

“This grant could not have come at a better time,’’ said Lawrence Fire Chief Peter Takvorian, who will rehire eight firefighters to a department that currently has 104.

Layoffs this summer led to mothballing of two of five engine companies in the city and prompted the department to stop responding to ambulance calls in emergencies not considered life-threatening. “We needed this additional manpower to be able to provide an adequate level of public safety,’’ Takvorian said.

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