Lowell fire stations are temporarily closing due to staffing. City leaders blame excessive sick days.

Fire stations in Lowell, Massachusetts, are temporarily closing their doors because of staffing shortages. On Sunday, two stations shut down for the day.

"So, you're adding 3 to 5 minutes of response time for that first engine to arrive on scene, and fire doubles every 30 seconds," said Bill Harland, president of the Lowell firefighters union. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what's going to happen."

Harland said the city of Lowell needs to step up and hire more firefighters. 

"We're trying to prove that the systemic problem is a lack of hiring and filling in how many members we're supposed to have. Our full complement is 213. We're only budgeted for 203."

Several city council members say the real problem is the number of sick days firefighters are taking. According to city records, firefighters used 527 sick days in the first 77 days of the fiscal year, resulting in over $1 million of overtime in an attempt to fill those shifts.

"I think the numbers are alarming," said Lowell City Councilor Belinda Juran at a meeting in September. "The trend in August was alarming, but really the trend for all of fiscal year '27 so far is clear."

"That's alarming, very concerning. This is something that is not sustainable," said Lowell City Councilor Vesna Nuon.

Harland disagrees and says these sick calls are for real medical problems. 

"The guys are having legit issues. The issues that they're having, it's not necessarily injuries on the job, it's over time, the beatings that we are doing on our bodies," Harland said.  

Harland added that many of the sick calls this year are for those serious medical issues with several members of this fire department undergoing major surgeries so far this year.