Who we are

Friends of Ross Firehouse is a group of concerned neighbors who care deeply about protecting our community. For over 100 years, Ross has maintained its fire station through good times and bad. The Town understood the danger fire poses to our community and property. Now that the Town Council has shut down our fire station, we must find an alternative path to bring it back.

Our Leadership

Bob Herbst
President

  • CEO, JHS Properties

  • Extensive commercial, industrial, and residential real estate experience

Stephanie DiMarco
Vice President

  • Founder & former CEO, Advent Software

Laura Conrow
Secretary

  • Cambridge Speakers Series

Ed Dong
Treasurer

  • CEO, KOAR Development Group

  • Real estate developer specializing in industrial, self-storage, and mixed–use properties

Town character

People move to Ross because of the small-town charm, excellent schools and public safety. The defining architecture of the town is epitomized by the public safety building. Demolishing and replacing it with a modern administrative building will irrevocably diminish the Town’s small-town charm.

Why this matters

Degraded Emergency response times

Losing Ross-based firefighters (who are EMT’s and paramedics) means medical emergency response times have increased by a minimum of 2 minutes.

In cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, major trauma and structural fires – minutes matter.

The Town’s own data shows 259 medical emergencies in just 2 years.

Inevitably some percentage of those would have resulted in bad outcomes with added delay.

Since the firehouse closed in July 2025 - emergency response times have gone from “best in class” to “edge suburban.”

Divided Town Council

The Town Council is split 3-2 on the decision to review alternatives that include a firehouse. 3 people should not decide the future of public safety in Ross.