Everybody is still waiting to hear more from the investigation into the ugly crash involving a Phoenix fire engine on Monday evening.  (see Firegeezer report HERE.)  You probably know by now that the 49-yr.-old captain, Crystal Rezzonico was ejected from the pumper during the collision and was critically injured.  The Arizona Republic is reporting this morning that after “multiple” surgeries her prognosis for recovery is good.

But the police are still trying to determine whether she had her seat belt on or if it had failed during the impact.  Either way, it’s such a needless outcome.  I find it hard to imagine that somebody with that much experience and responsibility would not be using her seat belt, but there are always times when people temporarily unhook in order to squirm into the SCBA harness, for example, or some other reason.  Or it’s possible that there was a flaw in the seat belt installation that allowed it to disassemble during the stress of the collision.

We’ll find out eventually, but the outcome is still the same … sad.  Do you have a regular program of some sort that effectively tests your seat belts to see if they have kept their integrity?  Just grabbing it and giving it a tug doesn’t do the job.  You need a recognized testing device to do that.  If you’re a small department that doesn’t have the ability to have that kind of equipment, then get in touch with a major truck repair facility and get it done.  They’ll probably do it for free for the local VFD.  And set up a plan where it gets done at least annually.  ‘Nuff said.

*  *  *

I’ll be stepping out on pre-arranged S/L in a little while.  I have to go to the dentist this morning for an unpleasant experience.  I am not looking forward to it because they alway hurt me, and I don’t care for that.  I’ll be leaving a little early so that I can get enough breakfast to carry me through most of the day.  I know that I’ll be skipping lunch as the novocaine wears off and the terrible headache wears on.  But I am not sure which is going to take the worst beating, my choppers or my checkbook.

Oh, well….let’s get the equipment (and the seat belts!) checked out.  I’m going to get the coffee started while I can still drink something hot.

I’m going to repeat myself … again.  The governmental budgetary problems that are popping up all over the country are now in the phase where “the rubber meets the road” and hard decisions are being forced to be made.  Many, if not most, municipalities and counties have taken a rational approach to the financial crunch by first, seeing it coming a couple of years ago, and planning a measured remedy that accepts that fewer funds are available, thus demanding prioritizing the spending decisions.

But there are plenty of  places, generally cities of all sizes, that are governed by entrenched political machines whose priorities are far different than those of the people who are paying the taxes that are being spent.  And now they are ending up with police and fire layoffs and the closing of fire stations.  Sometimes the politicians (who are often riding around in luxury cars bought by the taxpayers) will use euphemisms like “rolling brown-outs” to make it sound less onerous, but they are still CLOSED.

I don’t believe there are very many fire chiefs who really want to close their fire companies, but if the city council won’t give them the funds, then they have few options to compensate for the shortfall.  One of the major problems, as I see it, is that the citizens are not being informed on what the spending priorities of the city government are.  When they call for a police car or ambulance for an emergency, they wait and wait while they see the parks crew cutting grass across the street.  That confuses and infuriates them.

Now – finally – more and more firefighters are stepping up to the public microphone and pointing these things out.  We’ve questioned earlier about the dishonest practice of requiring all gov’t. agencies to cut their budgets  equally (10% for everybody, for example) instead of weighting the reductions on a priority basis.  It is my opinion that NOTHING is more important than the public safety and public health.  Police, fire, water, sewer, etc.  In many ill-run cities we are seeing firefighters putting up big signs in front of closed firehouses informing neighborhoods of where their own councilman’s priorities lie.  We need more of that.

The Backstep Firefighter has a couple of good suggestions for billboards HERE illustrating the theme that I’m referring to.  If I was in charge of a Local’s publicity committee, I would send somebody out with a camera to take a picture of a parks crew leaning against the truck watching one of them piloting a mower.  Then I would place just above that photo a picture of an out-of-service fire engine with the caption:  “This city vehicle doesn’t have a driver.  If you have a fire, throw grass clippings on it.”

Another possibility, show a photo of a firehouse closed for the day because of a “brown out” and just under it have a close-up of the sign in the library door showing the operating hours being open every day.  Now I have nothing against libraries.  They are an important part of maintaining an educated and civilized community.  But when I was a youngster, the branch libraries were only open 2 or 3 days a week, and then for only five or six hours a day.  We got along just fine with that.  But my parents’ generation would have never permitted city hall to shut down the firehouse.

Put your imagination to work and get the word out before it’s too late.

Our priority now is to get this equipment checked out while I get the coffee started.  We’ll resume plotting in a little while in the day room.