Boston Fire Department Grants Face 78 Percent State Cut, Council Hears

BOSTON — April 25, 2025 — Boston City Council panel scrutinizes fire department grants as state funding collapses 78 percent. The Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by Councilor-at-Large Henry Santana and co-sponsored by Councilor Edward M. Flynn, held a comprehensive hearing Friday on Docket No. 0335 covering all 13 active Boston Fire Department grant awards totaling more than $3 million. Financial Grants Manager Julie Devin told the committee that the state earmark for the Boston Fire Training Academy fell to $500,000 in fiscal year 2025 — a 78 percent drop from fiscal year 2023 — while the hazmat response earmark was cut 63 percent, to $593,750, from $1.6 million the prior year. Deputy Chief Joseph Shea testified that 75 percent of all firefighter line-of-duty deaths in 2024 were attributed to occupational cancer and that the department's average retiree lives only about six years after leaving the job at 65. Deputy Commissioner Kevin Coyne noted a roughly $10 million city investment in three new marine unit vessels, and Coyne confirmed a dedicated marine engineer position has been submitted in the department's budget request.