Along with sharing details about his department’s operating budget on Tuesday, Feb. 17, Fire Chief Jim Blanchfield gave the Board of Selectmen an emphatic argument for why two additional firefighters are needed in Wilton next year.
“We think that there are some deficiencies relative to staffing in the town of Wilton,” he said, noting the request was a continuation of last year’s push for more people.
Last year at this time Blanchfield went before the BOS to make his case for the first two of eight firefighters in a four-year plan to increase personnel, with a $108,000 cost for each firefighter. The department was ultimately granted the equivalent of 1.5 firefighter for Fiscal Year 2026, with both positions budgeted thereafter.
Blanchfield said last year that the goal was to increase the department’s four rotating 24-hour shifts from six firefighters each, to eight apiece within the next few years.
“When we came before the town last year the plan was, from our perspective, because of many metrics — not one, many — we thought and we still believe that our staffing needs to be increased, for not just service but safety of the community and our own people,” Blanchfield said.
He noted that the last increase was eight firefighters that were added over a period of four years from 1999 to 2003, bringing the shift up from four to six people each.
“Since then, call volume has essentially doubled … We also see a large increase in the daytime population in Wilton now due to the business establishments, which is great for the town,” Blanchfield said.
“In addition to that,” he said, “it’s no secret. Wilton has built up. It just has.”
Along with increases in both the size and scope of commercial structures, Blanchfield said that homes are now much larger and require a more intensive firefighting approach from the department.
“They are big homes and that requires a certain level of response for safety … It’s not your grandparents’ cape[-style house] anymore,” he said.
“Data is Data”
Blanchfield also pointed out that, since 1999 — the last time personnel was increased — the town’s Grand List has nearly tripled. He described this as a key indicator of the amount and value of the property that his department is required to protect.
“There is $6 billion, $6 billion-and-a-half-worth of buildings in this town,” he said. “That’s what we protect. So it’s the gross number we protect from a property standpoint. Data is data.”
Along with call volume having increased from 1,319 in 1999 to 2,547 in 2025, Blanchfield also pointed out that above 15% of all their calls occur simultaneously.
“The total amount of runs in the Wilton Fire Department is approaching 4,000 runs,” he said, more than ever before, which is the best indicator of the department’s activity level.
First Selectman Toni Boucher interjected some comments relating to ASML and its overall property value.
“That company has property, one single machine can be worth $200 and $400 million,” she said. “That property, that machine, and they have how many of them … and so we have a lot of responsibility in this town to protect them as best we can. It is a state priority. The governor talks to me all the time about ASML, and it’s a national priority on top.”
“And it does also take probably more skilled intervention with that high technology environment … It is an extraordinary responsibility for us but we need to do that,” Boucher said. “They are our number one taxpayer by double of anyone else in town.”
Last year, some critics of expanding the fire department’s force raised questions about how many of their calls related to emergency medical services, asking whether additional medical personnel would better suit the community needs.
“Half our calls are medical calls,” Blanchfield said, noting it was less than other area departments. He also defended having a fire-based EMS.
“All of our firefighters are EMTs,” he said, noting it was largely standard among area departments to handle it the way they do.
“You don’t want to mess with a system that’s working,” he said.
Blanchfield also said the large senior living facilities present a unique challenge, with potential needs for greater personpower. He noted that during the recent storm the Wilton Fire Department almost had to make a decision to evacuate one of the facilities.
“Think about the taxing of resources relative to something like that, or just managing any emergency in a building this size,” he said, calling these kinds of properties high risk.
“What we can provide right now is six people,” he said.
“We can do better as a community,” he said, “just with this small incremental step — for the community and for our people.”
Blanchfield said the cost for two more firefighters amounts to an increase of $252,380 for Fiscal Year 2027.
“We still believe passionately that, for the protection of our own people, town employees and for the citizens and for the property protection, we believe that increasing staff in the fire department is good for the community,” he said.