Boston Fire Department Presents $4 Million Grant Portfolio, Warns of Health Program Funding Cliff

BOSTON — March 31, 2026 — Boston Fire Department warns city councillors that critical health and wellness programs may end in 2027 as federal grants expire. At a March 31 hearing of the City Council Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by At-Large Councillor Henry Santana, Financial Grants Manager Julie Devin presented a portfolio of 13 active awards totaling more than $4 million, including an expiring $1.2 million Assistance for Firefighters Grant that has funded cancer screenings, crisis counseling, and the department's Health and Ladders wellness program. Screenings under the program produced 1,598 actionable health findings, including 637 classified as high-risk, and identified three possible cases of melanoma among 587 members screened by dermatologists. Deputy Chief Jody Shea told councillors that 10 department members have been diagnosed with cancer since January 2025 — five of them in their mid-thirties — and said his division is "pretty much run with grant money," a situation he called untenable. A fiscal year 2024 renewal application was denied, and no fiscal year 2025 solicitation has been issued, with DHS and FEMA in a partial shutdown. Fire Commissioner Paul Burke backed Shea's call to fund the wellness division through the city's operating budget, and Councillor Ed Flynn pledged to make firefighter health a priority in the upcoming budget season.