STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. - Stockbridge and West Stockbridge have decided to share a fire chief starting January 1 and running until June 30 next year.

What You Need To Know

  • Fire Chief Vincent Garofoli will look over both towns

  • The hope is that this is the first step to a much larger plan

  • The larger plan includes another fire station to help both towns

Both departments are made up of volunteers. The two towns say this is hopefully the first step of a larger project to bring better service to residents.

“We’ve been working with the two towns, towns of West Stockbridge and Stockbridge, to create a full-time model for fire and EMS moving forward that would fully take place in fiscal year 2028, but will be a three-phase approach starting in fiscal year 2026,” said Fire Chief Vincent Garofoli.

The three-phase approach will start off with Garofoli being chief for the two towns, which currently rely on help from other communities for medical calls and have been experiencing a loss in volunteers over the years.

“We established in the town of Stockbridge several years ago that volunteer numbers have been dwindling in terms and retention has been a concern as well, there is simply not the pool of volunteers to choose from that there was even 20 years ago,” said Garofoli.

To help combat this issue, the two towns are discussing a new facility for fire and EMS which would help cover both towns.

“The two towns have recognized that in order to adequately provide the services that the residents in both communities have come accustomed to we are going to have to adapt to a new plan moving forward and that plan would include a full time career based response of either an engine company or an ambulance fully staffed with the volunteers backing that response to continue delivering that level of service,” Garofoli said.

The new station would cost around $5.3 million and could be completed by the end of 2028.

“Having a fire station at the 102 - 183 crossroads would allow us to get quickly to the downtowns of both communities and still be able to get to the outlying areas of both towns with improvements over what we have now,” said Stockbridge town administrator Michael Canales.

Leaders will be presenting the plans to their selectboards and discuss funding options for a new facility. Voters would also have to approve this new plan.