Acushnet Firefighters Local 3281

03/19/2026

Acushnet Fire & EMS responded to a working structure fire in the 600 block of Middle Rd late this afternoon.

Aided by New Bedford Fire Department at the scene and with station coverage by Mattapoisett Fire Rescue the fire was quickly and efficiently brought under control.

03/14/2026

Acushnet Firefighters are responding to a fully involved barn fire on Wing Ln. Mutual Aid has been requested from Bristol County with Fairhaven Fire-EMS providing an Engine Company for station coverage.

02/25/2026

Acushnet Fire & EMS Department Engine-1 and Car-1 with four firefighters are on scene assisting at a 2-Alarm fire on Walnut St in Fairhaven at this time.

02/23/2026

Emergencies don't wait for sunny skies and neither do we. Your Acushnet Fire & EMS Department personnel have been up through the night monitoring the storm and responding to calls for aid. Please be mindful that emergency resources are continuing to use the roads with very limited visibility. Use caution and be safe out there. There is still quite a bit of storm to go before we are all on the other side of this one.

02/19/2026

Between 12:20pm and 1:30pm today Acushnet Firefighters and EMTs responded to three simultaneous emergency calls. One medical emergency, One Motor Vehicle Accident on South Main St and a Fire Alarm activation in the far north end of town.

In addition to the three on duty Acushnet Fire & EMS Department personnel, three off-duty career firefighters, and four call firefighters/EMTs responded to meet the needs of the community.

Instances of multiple, overlapping emergency calls here in town seem to be happening more frequently. Today, fortunately, all three calls were able to be handled with in-town resources without needing to request mutual aid from our nearby communities.

02/04/2026

Between 8:11am and 8:33am Acushnet Fire & EMS personnel received 3 simultaneous calls for assistance including 2 calls for medical aid and 1 call for a possible gas leak in town.

With 3 on duty staff and a call-back response by 2 call firefighters, 2 off duty full time firefighters and mutual-aid assistance from Fairhaven Fire-EMS, all 3 calls were handled quickly and efficiently.

Situations like this with more than one incident occurring at the same time were once a rarity, but are becoming increasingly commonplace as our town continues to grow.

Acushnet Fire Fighters Association

01/26/2026

Firefighters and the Fire Chief from Acushnet Fire & EMS Department are currently assisting Mattapoisett Fire Rescue with their response to a 3rd Alarm Structure Fire on Martha's Way in their town.

Public Safety Incident Radio Audio: https://youtube.com/live/78XTxEeWOvM?feature=share

04/25/2025

If you feel like you've heard more sirens than usual around town recently, you may not be mistaken. The last few days have been particularly busy for the members of the Acushnet Fire and EMS department.

On April 23rd firefighters responded to a reported brush fire that also involved two sheds on Russel St. With only two on duty personnel as well as five call-back firefighters and a mutual aid engine from Rochester Fire Department for station coverage, the incident was quickly brought under control.

On April 24th, the fire department managed THREE overlapping emergency calls including a mutual aid medical call from New Bedford, a large pallet fire that was initially thought to be a brush fire and a carbon monoxide alarm incident. On duty members, call-back personnel and mutual aid assistance from Fairhaven Fire-EMS were utilized to handle all of the calls.

Our firefighters received assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Fire Control team as their Fire Tower Network was able to provide an estimated location of the smoke column for the possible brush fire.

Impressively, the pallet fire that caused the visible smoke plume was found to be located approximately 800 FEET from the map location provided by Fall River and Plymouth Fire Tower personnel. This significantly cut down the amount of time required for our firefighters to locate the source of the smoke. Had the smoke been caused by an actual brush fire, this time savings would have very easily translated into saving property and lives by allowing for focused fire attack and evacuations.

NOTE: Some fire personnel in these photos have removed parts of their protective gear after the fire was deemed to be out and the area was being "wet down" to prevent any possible rekindles. Full protective equipment including SCBA was used during fire attack and suppression operations.

04/22/2025

Fortunately, large scale incidents are a rare occurrence in our area and rarer still here in Acushnet. Two of our full-time permanent firefighters used their day off to spend the day on Monday participating in what has been called "a large scale, planned, mass casualty incident" in Boston. FF-Paramedic Morrisseau and FF-Paramedic Leger spent the day assisting with radio communications in the Finish Line area and Medical Tents at the Boston Marathon for the day.

Participation in regional or national events such as this one allows members from small towns to be exposed to equipment, skills and techniques that they otherwise may not encounter frequently, if ever, on the job in their local communities.

Some of the new and exciting equipment on hand included Lifepak35 defibrillator monitors from Stryker Emergency Care and on site "iStat" blood analysis units from Nova Biomedical.

We actively encourage our firefighters and EMS providers to seek out learning and training opportunities such as this to enhance their skills and broaden their horizons. Each of these experiences increases our capabilities as we provide our services to our community.

02/21/2025

Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM)

During a recent drill, members of Acushnet and Fairhaven fire departments invoked new technology to perform a review of the tactics used during a recent, sig...

08/15/2024

With great sadness we join with many of our neighboring communities in mourning the Line of Duty passing of New Bedford Firefighter Matthew Forand. Our thoughts and prayers are with Firefighter Forand's family and his brother and sister firefighters of IAFF Local #841 during this difficult time.

Thursday August 15, 2024

It is with great sadness that I must report the line of duty death of New Bedford Firefighter Matthew E. Forand. Preliminary information suggests that Matt suffered a medical emergency and passed away during the night while on duty at Fire Station 9.

On behalf of the New Bedford Fire Department and all our members, I want to express our most heartfelt condolences to Matt’s family and loved ones, especially his two children. I also want to pledge the Department’s support for them in a time of sadness. This is an unspeakable loss for them, for his brother and sister firefighters, and for our community.

Matt, 45 years old, completed the New Bedford Firefighting Academy in 2006. He was most recently assigned to Engine Co. 9 and was recognized repeatedly for his commitment to the residents of New Bedford. He received the Medal of Valor at the 2014 Firefighter of the Year Awards for rescuing an unconscious occupant from the second floor of a burning building on Dartmouth Street. He also received a Unit Citation as a member of Engine Co. 6 for his efforts battling the Royal Crown Apartment fire in March 2023.

Information on the services will be announced when it becomes available. We ask that you respect the family’s privacy at this time.

Respectfully,

Scott Kruger
Fire Chief