Five years ago, the Haverhill firefighters’ union told city councilors about the need for more staffing, and Tuesday return to the legislators with a “mostly positive” progress report. Haverhill Firefighters Local 1011 President Tim Carroll and Secretary Ryan Fairbanks return to what is now an enlarged City Council as well as an expanded fire department. Both are now stepping down from the union’s local executive board and, Carroll told WHAV, this is a good time to update everyone. “Talk about where we are from where we were in the five-year plan that we had, versus where the staffing grant got us and where we need to be once the staffing grant’s gone,” he said. Last fall, thanks to firefighters’ own grant writing, Haverhill was awarded $4.1 million federal grant to hire 16 firefighters and permanently add a second ladder truck.
