Boston agencies say city is ready for World Cup, Tall Ships, 250th celebration crowds

BOSTON -- March 26, 2026, Boston public safety chiefs told the City Council they are prepared for a summer stacked with the FIFA World Cup, Tall Ships, and Boston 250 events, but declined to provide overtime cost estimates. At a March 26 hearing of the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by Councillor Henry Santana and called by Councillor John Fitzgerald, EMS Chief James Hooley said his agency coordinated medical coverage for nearly 1,000 events last year and transported more than 95,000 patients, while BPD Deputy Superintendent Sean Martin promised neighborhood response times will not suffer despite the event surge. Fire Commissioner Paul Burke, in one of his final public appearances before retirement, said the BFD's 1,552-member force, bolstered by a 60-recruit class graduating in April, gives him "over 1,000 members to choose from for overtime." Councillor Ruthzee Culpepper pushed Martin to recommend a formal MOU between the BPD's Boston Regional Intelligence Center and the state police fusion center for the internationally focused events; Martin said no MOU may be needed given daily existing collaboration but could not confirm whether one is in place.