commentary FossilMedic on 28 Aug 2007 08:00 am
Turf and Testosterone
The power struggle taking place in Prince George’s County, Maryland has become a nation-wide spectator sport. FossilMedic has laid out this week’s field position for those viewing from the outside. (ed.)
Turf and Testosterone
Kentland VFD vs. PGFD update: House Arrest
When Ambulance 339 was not in service on August 20, Prince George’s (Md.) Fire/EMS Department suspended a second Kentland volunteer chief and, at 1900 hours, restricted the fire company to responding to only incidents in their first due. This is how the PGFD press release read:
“The Fire/EMS Department will reduce the amount of mutual aid responses of the Kentland Fire Department to ensure personnel are available to respond to the more than 5100 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance calls within their first due response area. The Fire/EMS Department will evaluate Kentland’s ability to maintain adequate response to all calls in their first due prior to any adjustments. Continuity of service to the citizens shall not be reduced as the same amount of Fire/EMS units will be dispatched in accordance with standard procedures.”
Within the unique rules of PGFD, suspending command officers and restricting the VFD response area are legal actions that have been done by prior county fire chiefs.
On August 21, the county used overtime to increase career staffing in the stations around Kentland. There is also an aggressive transferring of units into fire stations adjacent to 33 in order to reduce the chance that Kentland will need to respond out of its first due area because an adjacent fire station has no crew.
For example, as soon as HazMat 30 starts on an incident, using the three-person crew that staffs Engine 301, the county is transferring a fire company into the Landover Heights fire station. A couple of times a day rigs move to cover 30’s district.
The county is incurring thousands of dollars in overtime, but has not placed Ambulance 339 or any additional transport unit in the 1st Battalion. FossilMedic thinks that ambulance coverage may not be the driving issue in this conflict. The executive summary from a 2004 Tri-Data report on the fire/ems department may provide a clue.
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Government Oversight
The government oversight process of [PGFD] has had negative affects on the department’s ability to function effectively. Past county administrations have often dealt with the fire department politically, not wanting to alienate either volunteers or career groups. In doing so, county administrations have often taken the path of least resistance, reluctant to make some of the tough decisions regarding the structure, changing the model of delivery, or adding additional career staff in fear of alienating either volunteer or career personnel.
A particularly troubling issue is not empowering the county fire chief to exercise the duties of this office. Overall, the coordination aspects of the structure between the volunteers and the chief are not well defined, often handcuffing the chief. Past chiefs we spoke with confirmed a “fundamental lack of control” over the organization as the number one problem they faced. Under the current charter, and backed by several court decisions, the fire chief is the recognized senior official of the department. In practice, he is not.
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Suspending two volunteer chiefs, restricting the VFD to its first due, freezing the flow of station management and 508 funding would indicate that the department wants to knock down the loudest of its well-staffed volunteer organizations. It appears that the county executive has empowered Chief Sedgewick to continue the path started by Chief Blackwell in making the county fire chief as the actual senior fire official.
Insiders have told me that Kentland could have beat the county in its own game by getting their own ambulance, perhaps one with a mini-pumper package like Miami-Dade used a decade ago. Or specifying that their new pumper have patient transport capability.
Miami-Dade transport pumper
pump panel inside roll-up door behind driver’s seat
Last Saturday afternoon I toured the Kentland “border.” In the shopping center parking lot next to 33 citizens were enjoying a cookout. On Landover Road others were scalping tickets to the Redskins-Ravens pre-season football game at FedEx field.
Organizational change is never pretty. In this effort, the county may be violating prior court decisions and municipal law in its effort to beat Kentland down. Kentland is not complying with a directive by the fire chief, but that may not be legally valid as defined by the current relationship between the 38 corporations and county fire department. As the Nick Martin incident revealed, there are significant flaws and gaps in the existing PGFD standard operating procedures that affect both career and volunteer members.
Meanwhile, there STILL are three stations without a BLS ambulance in the County. Maybe someone has the answer at next Saturday’s rally at Station 33. Bring your fire truck!
on 28 Aug 2007 at 3:59 pm 1."DOIN THE DEED" said …
The LiL boyz on the hill are tryin to make freinds and be buddys with everyone now hummm???? until the County cuts them loose then they will be back to the same ol Kidland
on 28 Aug 2007 at 9:39 pm 2.steve cos said …
You have no idea of what you are talking about and you obviously have nothing to say because your post says nothing…..
on 28 Aug 2007 at 10:25 pm 3.Patch Man said …
I hope Channel 9 has a live truck there. I can’t wait to see all the white volunteers from Pennsylvania and Southern Maryland come to a predominantly black community to help Kiddieland show the citizens just how much they don’t want to help them. Bring your fire trucks, it’ll be a parade, yee haw!
on 28 Aug 2007 at 10:40 pm 4."DOIN THE DEED" said …
OOOOOOK Steve the K*NTLAND NUT HUGGER read your damn post with your 2 yr old mentality ew ew ew I gots a K*NTLAND TEZ SHIRT ya f*ckin retart
on 29 Aug 2007 at 11:32 am 5.another bystander said …
Echoing the ‘patch’ post: Yeah, make sure you bring your sheets and hoods, and a big sign “we volunteer to serve..well, just folks who look like us …”
on 29 Aug 2007 at 2:06 pm 6.African American said …
NO white people, don’t put my raging house fire out, I will wait for a more diverse group. Thanks anyway
No white EMT, my father is having a heart attack, don’t hook up your white person AED, I will wait for the African American paramedics.
on 29 Aug 2007 at 6:40 pm 7.Kentland Need to GROW up said …
For Christ sake!! If anyone is denying a service to the commuinity its kentland. They are refusing to take an ambulance to HELP the citizens in their first due. Damn, PGFD even offerd personnel for them. Take the damn ambulance!! Swallow your pride, this is what the FD is coming to-EMS, my man!
on 29 Aug 2007 at 11:17 pm 8.Outsider said …
Kentland Never refused the ambulance. All they wanted was for two career personnel to help staff it. The PGFD (County government) refuses to put it in writing. Why? Why is that? So what, if the volunteers do not want to staff it. Let the two career guys that are getting paid staff it, and EMS care in that area will be better. People who volunteer their time that do not want to do a particular job, will not do that job well or do it at all. People that get paid to do that same job, will either be happier to do it, or will be held accountable for that job.
Yet my tax dollars are paying for over time? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to pay for two guys to staff the ambulance than to pay overtime for surrounding companies to have additional personnel staffing those stations? Tax dollars for 2 guys and then tax dollars for 8 maybe more guys, per day? Isn’t the county government resonsible to be good stwards of county tax dollars? Obviously the county is scared to death right now. Why else would you perposefully transfer other companies into Kentlands area? Scared to death that they may have to respond outside their (33’s) first due? Come on. I think the county fire chief is the one who is accountable for this, and he should be removed from office for allowing this to happen the way it has and then to allow it go on the way it has? I tend to believe that the county is trying to breakdown or shut up the one volunteer company that is the loudest and proudest. Love them or Hate them no denying 33 gets out, and they are one of the companies that the county relies on to transfer, to special call for incidents throughout the county. Why? because they usually have more than just one crew and they do run alot of calls. (Both fire and EMS related)
on 29 Aug 2007 at 11:25 pm 9.Patch Man said …
“African American” you missed the point entirely. This is not a issue of diversity. This is about a bunch of (predominamtly) white, good old boy volunteers coming “the ‘hood” from out of town to support another bunch of (predominamtly) white volunteers who are refusing to cooperate with the county to provide a much needed ambulance service to a mostly low-income, underserved, (predominamtly) black community.
Whether the Kentland volunteers like it or not, in PG County, EMS is provided by the Fire Department.
Kentland has no problem taking the tax dollars that come from the county taxpayers, but when asked to do their fair share of the work they refuse. Are they “too good” to run an ambulance service or do they consider the citizens of Landover to be less deserving than the rest of the county?
on 30 Aug 2007 at 1:07 pm 10.Patch Man said …
Oh, Kentland usually has more than just one crew? Really? With such an abundance of riding members why does it seem to be such a major problem for them to staff an ambulance?