Sounding an alarm: High cost of housing fueling public safety concerns on Cape Cod

First responders are sounding an alarm on Cape Cod.

A shortage of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics is straining departments and raising concerns that emergency responses might not be as quick as needed.

A long-time resident of Orleans, Hayden Boucher is happy he is a new firefighter and EMT in the town he calls home.

“It’s awesome serving the people that you see every day, and you know the people you see in the grocery store. You know you are part of the community,” Boucher said.

But taking a job like this on Cape Cod requires some sacrifice.

“I’m living with my parents right now,” said Boucher. “I just got engaged, so me and my fiancé are there now. It’s crazy trying to find an affordable place to live around here. You have to save for years and years to even have a chance.”

Hiring is a constant challenge for Orleans Fire Chief Geof Deering.

“Since November we do have three openings within the department that we’ve had difficulty filling,” Deering said.

He’s done away with a residency requirement and has increased pay, but it’s still getting harder and harder to fill open slots.

“A lot of it is related to housing here on Cape Cod. Here in Orleans the median house price is between $1.1 to $1.2 million, and the starting salary for a firefighter in Orleans is around $70,000. The math is complicated that way,” he said.

It’s a similar story from one end of the Cape to the other. Communities posting one public safety job after another that goes unfilled for months at time.

“One of the consequences that worries me is if and when something big happens here, a hurricane or a major emergency, where we need extra help, where are they coming from,” said Deering.

“It’s really one way in and one way out and if they can’t get here, that’s going to put a big strain on the safety of the community,” he said.

Ryan McGrath has been a firefighter and paramedic in Orleans for 12 years. He just recently was able to buy a place after saving for years.

He says he was born and raised on Cape Cod, so he is committed to staying there.

“If you’re not tied down, you can just go over the bridge and you’re looking at maybe $200,000 less to purchase a home,” McGrath said.

Deering said it’s time to start thinking outside the box to attract and keep more firefighters.

He thinks communities will need to start helping public safety workers with a rent to own program or assistance with a down payment.

Another idea he mentioned is providing incentives to homeowners who currently rent out properties seasonally to rent them out year-round to town employees.

Deering said it wasn’t all that long ago that he could get up to 100 applications for an open position.

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