Union says a Chelmsford firefighter critically injured during part-time academy work lacks coverage, raising broader concerns about benefits and liability

By Peter Currier
The Sun

CHELMSFORD, Mass. — The Chelmsford firefighters’ union is urging town officials to get injured firefighter Nick Spinale on injury leave after he was hospitalized from a 40-foot fall earlier this month.

The incident has also raised statewide concerns over injury benefits for firefighters who are injured while working part-time at the state’s fire academy.

| HOT TOPIC: Fla. lieutenant gouged patient’s eyes, struck head against stretcher

Spinale fell from an upper floor of the burn building at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow on April 7, sustaining life-threatening injuries. He was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he spent time in the intensive care unit. At the time of the incident, Spinale was on duty as an employee of the fire academy, where he works part-time in addition to being a Chelmsford firefighter.

Chelmsford Firefighters IAFF Local 1839 President Rob Albon told The Sun Tuesday the union’s main concern is “trying to get the town of Chelmsford to take care of their employees and do the right thing.”

“The state, the town and Department of Fire Services are playing a game of hot potato and not wanting to do what is right … They are kind of leaving Nick floating in the wind,” said Albon.

Albon said Spinale’s condition is improving, but “he has a long road to recovery.” He said in recent days Spinale was discharged from UMass Memorial Medical Center and is now in rehab.

In a Facebook post by the Chelmsford Firefighters IAFF Local 1839, the union said the “selflessness and dedication to the safety and well-being of the community is something that firefighters do not take lightly.”

“In return, firefighters don’t ask for much. One thing we do ask for is to be taken care of when we do our job. In Nick’s case, training fellow Firefighters. The inaction of the Department of Fire Services, Massachusetts Fire Academy and most importantly the town of Chelmsford, our home team, is beyond disappointing,” said the IAFF Local 1839 post.

The Chelmsford fire union’s post was shared alongside a letter from Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts President Richard MacKinnon.

In his letter, MacKinnon said Spinale not receiving any sort of injury benefits carries implications for other full-time firefighters who also work part time at the fire academy.

“To date, neither the Town of Chelmsford nor the State Department of Fire Services (DFS) has taken full responsibility for Nick’s injuries. The Town has refused to place Nick on injury leave,” said the letter from Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts President Richard MacKinnon. “The PFFM and its General Counsel have been in ongoing conversations with the Town of Chelmsford and DFS regarding both Nick and the implications for PFFM members and the MFA moving forward.”

While those conversations have been ongoing, the PFFM said DFS has sent new contracts to PFFM members who work at the fire academy for a period starting July 1 .

“We strongly urge members not to sign these contracts until such time as the PFFM and its General Counsel have completed their conversations with DFS regarding the liability and protection for our members who, like Nick, are injured while providing their services to the MFA,” said the PFFM letter. “We believe signing these updated contracts will not protect anyone besides DFS.”

In a statement to The Sun Tuesday, Chelmsford Town Manager Paul Cohen said Spinale “was injured off duty as a contract employee for the State Fire Marshal’s Office as an instructor at the Massachusetts Fire Academy .”

“The Town is certainly mindful that the incident at the MFA has resulted in Mr. Spinale not being able to work in Chelmsford and the Town sympathies with his situation,” said Cohen. “The Town has been advised by Labor Counsel that it cannot designate his absence in Chelmsford as injured on duty as he was not performing work for Chelmsford as a Chelmsford Firefighter at the time he sustained his injuries.”

MacKinnon told The Sun Tuesday afternoon the union is “trying to exhaust all our efforts” in working with Chelmsford and the state to help Spinale. He noted that the state “has been agreeable” to do something to help Spinale in this situation, but that they have not specified what that might be.

While the priority is to help Spinale first, MacKinnon said the union now has concerns over the more than 100 of its members who work part time at the fire academy.

“We have concerns about their coverage in the event this were to ever happen again,” said MacKinnon.

He said those firefighters also employed by DFS part-time received new contract language Monday, but for now, the PFFM is asking them not to sign it until the union can vet the language.

In a statement to The Sun Tuesday evening, a DFS spokesperson said Spinale’s injury “was a tragedy, and DFS is doing everything we can to support Nick Spinale and his family during this difficult time, in partnership with PFFM and Chelmsford FD.”

“The latest contracts make no change to any employee’s benefits or employment status. The updates have been in the works for several years and reflect the flexibility in hours and shifts available to our contract staff, who serve a vital role in Academy training in addition to their employment with local fire departments,” said the DFS spokesperson. “We apologize for any confusion that this notice caused and will continue to discuss it further with staff to hear any concerns.”

The DFS spokesperson said over the last two years it had updated ambiguous language in the contracts in anticipation of the scheduled five-year contract renewals. The contracts were distributed last week, for staff to review and sign before the June deadline.

Contracted instructors work at the academy an average of 50 days a year, a spokesperson said, based largely on their own availability. That is below the state regulations for what constitutes part-time work, which is at least 18.75 hours in a week for six months a year. The distinction between academy employees who work more than 18.75 hours and those who work less had to be made in the contract, the spokesperson said, to clarify the benefits available to each type of employee, though they said those benefits have not actually changed and no benefits will be lost by any staff member.

A World Trade Center steel beam will travel more than 10,500 miles before returning to Ground Zero for the 25th remembrance of 9/11

April 29, 2026 10:32 AM

 · 

Syracuse police say a suspect planted and lit an explosive inside a lobby vending machine, causing major damage and triggering a large emergency response

Allentown’s federal lawsuit claims American Industrial Partners and manufacturers drove up costs, closed plants and created long delivery backlogs that impact fire departments

Fire officials say doors left open allowed smoke and heat to spread rapidly through a stairwell, trapping residents in a five-alarm blaze

© 2026 The Sun, Lowell, Mass.
Visit www.lowellsun.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MagneGrip delivers fully integrated clean air solutions to protect firefighter health by combining source-capture exhaust removal with air purification systems that continuously improve the quality of the air circulating throughout the station