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Detroit Suburb Votes to Eliminate Police and Fire Departments

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These Bumblers Popped Up Last Year

THE CITY OF ALLEN PARK, MICHIGAN, is back in the news again.  One of the nation's most inept city councils voted last night (Tuesday) to balance their budget by completely eliminating both the police and fire departments.

Firegeezer readers were acquainted with these financial wizards in February of last year when they threatened their firefighters with elimination unless they renegotiated their salary structure way down.  (See the Firegeezer video report HERE.)  An agreement was made that included a tax increase on the citizens if they approved of it in a vote.  But that measure failed at the ballot twice, back in November and again this month on May 8.

You may recall that the primary act that bankrupted the city was the city council’s falling for the song-and-dance of a film maker who told them that if they would provide a suitable location for his big-time movie studios and film production school, then he would give the city $2 million to balance the city budget. The council then sold $24 million in bonds to purchase a property and industrial building that was only assessed at $14 million. The studio maven, Jimmy Lifton then took his act to Detroit without “donating” the $2 million and reneging on the deal to make Allen Park a motion picture home.  This all took place in 2009.

Allen Park's $24 million baby

The stunt led to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the validity of the city's bond sale with the threat of fraud indictments.  Ever since then the city has been drowning under the debt load of having to pay off the bonds for near-worthless property and unable to provide basic city services.

Now the council has a $4 million deficit and has decided to balance their budget by eliminating the public safety services, police and fire, and contract with a neighboring municipality to provide the services.  They voted last night to pass that budget which includes the public safety layoffs.

There is only one tiny little problem… none of the other towns are interested in taking on Allen Park's emergencies.  All of them are struggling as it is just to cover their own calls.  WJBK-TV was at the city council meeting last night and prepared this video report:

 

The Detroit Free Press adds:

Adding to the appearance of disarray in City Hall, the council voted 6-1 to accept the resignation of the city's top staffer, Administrator John Zech.

And still to be resolved is how the city will pay its bills this year. Appointment of a state emergency manager remains possible, city officials have said.

The city's annual budget had been projected to be $19 million in the next fiscal year, 2012-13, but must drop to $15.8 million because of skidding property-tax revenues combined with $2.6 million in annual bond payments for the city's failed movie studio, according to budget documents. The studio sits largely empty next to City Hall. "Nobody knows what's really going to happen," Mayor William Matakas said before the meeting. None of the cities that Allen Park has approached about contracting for police and fire services has responded, he said.

News Herald photo

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Posted by on May 23, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Videos • Tagged: ,

Making Paramedicine a Profession

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Time to build our paramedic profession infrastructure

It appears that our physician colleagues accomplished more than paramedics since 1968, establishing Emergency Medicine as a specialty in 1979 and Emergency Medical Services as a subspecialty in 2010. (How EMS physicians became recognized and rewarded)

The development of the National EMS Educational Standards in 2009 is a more significant development. (EMS Future is HERE)

Emergency Medicine built upon an existing graduate medical education structure

The significant physician accomplishments were built upon a well-established graduate medical education infrastructure.

A September 2006 article in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the foundation of medical education:

Almost a century ago, Abraham Flexner, a research scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, undertook an assessment of medical education in North America, visiting all 155 medical schools then in operation in the United States and Canada. His 1910 report, addressed primarily to the public, helped change the face of American medical education.

American Medical Education 100 Years after the Flexner Report

Two physician members of the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee referenced the Flexner report when discussing update options to the 2009 National EMS Educational Standards in an all-day roundable on March 28, 2012 (agenda).

All professions with significant academic preparation go through this type of review process.

I used the results from evaluation of the Masters in Business Administration program to discuss the state of EMS Education in 2009.

The Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation criticized business graduate education in 1959 as filled with:

  • Weak Students
  • Inappropriately trained faculty members
  • Unintellectual curriculum
  • Poor research

What Direction for EMS Education?

From "sticky side down" first aid mechanic to health care professional

The 2009 Educational Standards vaults paramedicine out of the vocational training arena. It will have the same impact as the Flexner report had on physician education and the Ford/Carnegie reports had on Masters in Business Administration programs.

But we have signficant gaps to fill to satisfy the medical professional model.

Need appropriately trained faculty members

I will never forget talking to a community college assistant dean about the Educational Standards. An experienced paramedic with years as a state-credentialed paramedic instructor, she shared that she recently got her associate degree. The associate degree was from the same paramedic program she was running. Not sure she could complete a bachelor degree.

Most community college leaders are required to have master's degree, often they have a Ph.D. or Ed.D. terminal degree.

I have no doubt she is a dedicated, passionate and effective paramedic instructor … but she needs better academic credentials.

The biggest push back to CoAEMSP accreditation of paramedic programs was the requirement that the program director have a bachelor degree. (2008 fact sheet)

In the academic world, those with terminal doctorial degrees "create knowledge" and impact professional/graduate educational programs.

Will you step up?

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 22, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Patient Management, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

How EMS physicians became recognized and rewarded

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How our physician colleagues got respect

To follow up on last night's discussion on compensation, a board-certified emergency medicine physician with five to ten years experience earns an average of $258,000 per year, or $124/hour. (2009 data)

It was not always so. Forty years ago emergency medicine was a low-pay, low-prestige side job. The mom-and-pop community hospital with a dozen beds maintained a poorly equipped "Emergency Room" staffed by part-time or fill-in physicians.

Defining a Profession:

Medicine considers five factors in defining a specialty:

  • Unique body of knowledge
  • Professional association
  • Peer-reviewed vetting of knowledge acquisition
  • Testing of competence
  • Institutional training: internship, fellow, clerkship

Three organizations have pushed emergency medicine and EMS physicians into the light.

1968: American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)

The first professional organization, established Annals of Emergency Medicine in 1972 as their peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Establishing a scientific journal is a major component in establishing a specialty, from the Annal's website:

Annals is the emergency medicine journal most frequently cited by authors and has the highest impact factor over the years of all 19 journals in the emergency medicine category of the SCI (Science Citation Index). The impact factor (the average number of citations per published article) is the commonest measure of journal influence; the 2010 impact factor for Annals was 4.14, placing it in the top 12% of all 8,005 science and medical journals tracked by the SCI.

Not only is Annals most frequently cited, but it is cited more promptly and longer than any other emergency medicine journal (9.5 years, 83% longer than its nearest competitor). In the past 5 years, more than1,200 different journals in the ISI science journal database cited an article in Annals, and in a typical year, Annals articles are cited by more than 400 different scientific journals, most of them from a broad range of specialties outside of emergency medicine.

In 1979 Emergency Medicine becomes the 23rd specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

1984: National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians (NAEMSP)

One hundred emergency physicians established NAEMSP to define the needs and specialties unique to an EMS Physician. The first effort was a task force started in 1992 to establish EMS as an emergency medicine subspecialty. Their efforts moved the ball forward, but not enough to achieve recognition. The task force disbanded in 1996.

In 1997 Prehospital Emergency Care (PEC) was created as the scientific journal for emergency medical service physicians.

From the 2011 NAEMSP annual report:

In July, PEC received its third Impact Factor, which increased to an impressive 1.889. This Impact Factor placed PEC as the 8th most oft-cited Emergency Medicine journal out of the 23 that are currently rated by the ISI Web of Knowledge.

PEC had an even more impressive Immediacy Index, which indicates how rapidly articles that are published in PEC are cited in the same year. PEC had an Immediacy Index of 0.533.

This ranks PEC 4th out of the 23 EM journals that are ranked in terms of being rapidly cited. PEC continued to be placed ahead of such well-established journals as Journal of Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Journal of Emergency Nursing, Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, and European Journal of Emergency Medicine.

PEC is also the official journal of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMO), the National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE) and the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT).

1998: United States Metropolitan Municipalities Medical Directors Consortium

Known as the "Eagles," this group is comprised of most of the jurisdictional EMS medical directors for the nation's largest cities 9-1-1 services. Read more about them HERE (510 minutes that shape EMS: The Eagles speak in Dallas)

Establishing a unique body of knowledge

By 2005 the professional, peer-reviewed literature was sufficient to make a second effort at establishing EMS physicians as an emergency medicine subspecialty.

NAEMSP members wrote a four volume Emergency Medical Services Clinical Practice and Oversight publication that covered four areas:

  1. Clinical aspects of prehospital medicine
  2. Medical oversight of EMS
  3. Evaluating and improving quality in EMS
  4. Special operations medical support

The books were published in 2009.

The content and organization of EMS Clinical Practice and Oversight matched the proposed curriculum for the EMS subspecialty fellowship.

EMS was recognized as an emergency medicine subspecialty in 2010. You can go HERE (How medicine approaches EMS credentialling) for details of the ems physician fellowship. The first board exam is anticipated in late 2013.

You get what you invest in.

I appreciate Skip Kirkwood's response to yesterday's article. It provides an appropriate conclusion to today's example:

My frustration comes from the failure of, or the unwillingness of, so many EMSers to "engage," to spend even a few minutes or a few dollars to advance their profession.  MANY are willing to speak, but a willingness to speak without the willingness to WORK on what you are speaking about is just whining.  And as a kid I learned (whap!) that there are few things worse than a whiner.

My second source of frustration comes from the "What's in it, or what's easy, for me" focus. Improving the stature of EMS in our communities, and improving the lot of EMTs and paramedics, is not rocket science. It involves improving educational standards, becoming active in political regulator affairs, and stepping up to take control of our profession and our work environment. Unfortunately, the response seems to be "If they're not going to pay me more, up front, I'm not going to make any additional effort in this arena."

Folks, you make the investment first, then you get the dividend. It works that way in the stock market, and it works that way in the economic, political, and academic environments.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 21, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Training • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is EMS REALLY a calling?

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How do WE get engaged?

This video shows how a population was motivated to participate in their first free elections.

YouTube Preview Image

The Return of Ben Ali. On January 14th 2011, we chased former Dictator President Ben Ali out of Tunisia. Since then many had lost interest in politics.

After many uneffective attempts to push Tunisian people to go out and vote for the upcoming elections, a new campaign was set up in La Goulette, to the shock of residents.

Their reaction was filmed. Results: On October 23rd, there was 88% turnout when 55% were expected.

EMS: More than a job (??)

This year's theme selected by the American College of Emergency Physicians is: EMS: More than a Job, a Calling

If you have been following the posts by National EMS Management Association President Skip Kirkwood, you may have a different observation. He is not a snarky pundit, but someone who has been doing heavy lifting for EMS. I would say he is a little frustrated.

Working conditions for many paramedics are grim, near minimum wage.

The US Department of Labor identified 2010 median pay for 226,500 "paramedics and emts" at $30,360 per year ($14.60 per hour).

As a contrast, the 310,600 firefighters 2010 median pay is $45,250 per year ($21.76 per hour). Police and detectives make more than firefighters.  Registered nurses even more than police and detective, at $64,690 per year ($31.10/hour).

I appreciate that this year's theme is:

… reflecting the idea that EMS practicioners don't choose this field for big salaries, comfortable working conditions, or 9-to-5 hours; they have a true calling to help and care for others in their hour of need.

Over the same 38 years, physicians dedicated to the practice of emergency medicine have significantly improved their compensation and professional status within the universe of medicine.  Nurses have transformed their profession.

Why are medics still near minimum wage? Why are some single-role ems providers engaged in 9-1-1 service without the same worker compensation presumptions that fire and police have?

Celebrating working for free does not pay the rent

My three passions; teaching, writing and emergency service, are not known as wealth builders.

When I went to work full-time as a community college fire science program director, I was making less money than the rookie firefighters I was teaching … with a master's degree and a dozen years experience as a part-time college instructor.

At the beginning of every academic year, one of the college leaders would celebrate that a retired federal worker was teaching for free. After four years I left the college because of poor pay and threadbare resources.

This week we are going to look at issues affecting the profession of out-of-hospital care that will probably make you annoyed or uncomfortable.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 20, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Top Brass Thanks the Firefighters

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An Annual Tradition

EACH YEAR, THE FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE fully participates in the Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy events, primarily through the Fill-the-Boot campaign that runs for four days over the holiday weekend.  This is done with the full support and encouragement of the County Board of Supervisors, and the Fire Chief's office sees that every accommodation is made to make for a successful weekend.  This is a large part of why the FRD is always in the top five departments for amount of money raised each year.

One of the encouragements delivered by the Fire and Rescue administration is a reward for the station shift that raises the most donations per capita in the department.  One day is selected and the winning shift gets to sleep in at home and be with their families while a full crew of white shirts and multi-bugles show up to staff all the apparatus.  It's not very often you get to see a deputy chief pull the handline and take it in.

Joel Kobersteen, Information Officer of Firefighters and Paramedics Local 2068 tells us about this years winners:

The "Fill in" Crew:

Front row: Deputy Chief Michael Reilly, Technician Michael Macario, Firefighter Jason Pryor
Back row: Captain II Reggie Johnson, Captain II Steve McFarland, Assistant Chief Garret Dyer,
Captain Cindy Brown, Deputy Chief J.J. Walsh, Deputy Chief Keith Morrison,
Lieutenant Craig Schellhammer, Captain Tim Fowler  (IAFF Local 2068 photo)

On May 14, 2012 uniformed members of the administrative staff and communications section of Fairfax County Fire & Rescue gave the crew from Fire Station 5, C-shift 12 hours off and staffed the apparatus themselves. This was done to recognize 5/C for their tremendous job being the highest raising station and shift per capita during the 2011 Labor Day Weekend Fill the Boot campaign to benefit the Greater Washington Muscular Dystrophy Association. Station Captain Fred Brandell, who is also the Shift Captain at 5/C, inherited the "MDA Fevered shift" from the previous Station/Shift Captain Tyrone Harrington and has since run with it.

Captain Brandell's shift makes an annual pilgrimage down to the MDA Summer Camp in Leonardtown, Maryland where they show the campers around fire apparatus, swim, eat and play with the campers and staff a dunk tank along with now Battalion Chief Harrington. Fire Station 5/C has been the per capita leader for last five years, last year collecting $14,911, which works out to $1,656 per person for the 9 person crew.

Congrats to 5-C, and to the great folks in the "ivory tower" who enthusiastically show up every year to spell the crew.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue WEBSITE.
Local 2068 WEBSITE.

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Posted by on May 20, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, charity, News • Tagged: , ,

LAFD Response Times Dip After Station Shutdowns …. (No! Really?)

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Anybody Besides the Fire Chief and Mayor Surprised at This?

THE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, CONTROLLER Wendy Greul released the report yesterday of an audit her department conducted into the Fire Department's response times.  Using a 2-year baseline from June 2007 to July 2009, the auditors found that after the fire station closings and rotating brownouts took place in July of last year, the response times for ambulance calls increased an average 12 seconds citywide and as much as 20 seconds in certain areas including the San Fernando Valley.  The Daily News reports:

The report found response times for emergency medical calls increased an average of 12 seconds to four minutes, 57 seconds. However, the response time to fires and non-medical emergencies dropped about 21 seconds — also to four minutes, 57 seconds.

Pat McOsker, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, said the audit confirms his warnings over the past several years.

"You cannot cut the department by the 15 percent it has been cut and not have an impact," McOsker said. "In emergencies, seconds count and we have a system that delays the response."

Not to be overlooked in the report is this observation by the Controller:

She also expressed concern about the quality of the department's response time data, noting that about one-third of the incidents reviewed were not coded properly and it was unclear whether they were emergency or non-emergency calls.

"It's unacceptable that the LAFD has not been able to accurately track its emergency response times," Greuel said, adding she hoped the audit would lay the groundwork for city officials to make improvements.

In her report Greuel also pointed out that 650,000 of the 1.9 million incident reports they reviewed were coded "unclearly" rendering their study unable to be compared with the NFPA response standards.

KNBC-TV Ch. 4 tells more in this video report:

 

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Fire Chief Brian Cummings
discuss response times and deployment at a March 13 news conference.
(Barbara Davidson, Los Angeles Times / March 13, 2012)

It has been pointed out that part of the problem is created at the dispatch center where calls are taking longer to be processed before the alarm is dispatched. Again from the Daily News:

(Local President) McOsker said part of the problem is dispatchers are required to go through a list of more than 20 questions before an emergency call is placed with paramedics. The protocol was developed to try to reduce the number of calls made for nonemergencies.

"There was a time that once they determined the nature of the emergency, they could send a unit out," McOsker said. "Now, they have to go through the entire list of questions before they send anyone to the call."

Using their own resources to analyze the raw data, the Los Angeles Times has concluded:

(Times staff writer Ben) Welsh crunched data from more than 1 million dispatches from the department's database and found that the Fire Department falls far short of the standard that rescue units be alerted within one minute on 90% of 911 calls. And average call-processing time has increased, most notably for medical calls, which account for the overwhelming majority of responses.

Five years ago firefighters were dispatched to medical calls within a minute 38% of time, the analysis found. By 2011, that number dropped to 15%.

The Times also found that in the more than 250,000 medical dispatches last year, the department took 75% longer, on average, than the national standard.

You can read the entire 46-page Controller's report (.pdf file) HERE.

On March 18 Firegeezer reported on the surprising announcement that LAFD had been using phony numbers to calculate their response times.  Read that posting HERE where we also addressed the vehicle maintenance problems that are affecting the response times as well.

It was also last March when McOsker opined:  "This department is being held together with bubble gum, baling wire and duct tape."

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Posted by on May 19, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, dispatch, Dispatch & Communications, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Response times, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Amazing Academic Accreditation Adventure

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And you thought the fire service had turf wars and arbitrary rules

Spend $11,450 and three weeks at Harvard to attend the "Senior Executives in State and Local Government" program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. You will receive no academic credit.

Possess a state or National Registry EMT-Basic card and some universities will grant three to six semester hours of transfer credit. Even if the instructor's level of education is a General Education Degree – the adult version of a high school diploma.

Welcome to the world of academic accreditation.

Click: "Academic Accreditation Details for "Firefighting 2.0" to read my article posted on the Fire Engineering website.

It is a response to Fire Engineering Editor-in-Chief Bobby Halton's March 2012, Editor's Opinion, "Firefighting 2.0."

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 17, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I got this”

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A parody that could have been done in your fire station

Enjoy the silliness.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 16, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,

Carroll Shelby dead at 89

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An American Legend

I was ten years old when my Dad took us to see one of the first Shelby Cobra sports cars at the Koons Ford dealership in Seven Corners. The showroom was packed with men and boys trying to get a good look.

The man

Carroll Hall Shelby was born in  Leesburg, Texas, son of a rural mail carrier. Was a flight instructor during World War II.

In 1952 he starts racing cars, finishing second at the 1954 LeMans driving an Aston-Martin DBR3 for John Wyer.

Sports Illustrated 1956 and 1957 "Driver of the Year."

Wins the 1959 LeMans driving an Aston Martin DBR1/300

Wins USAC driving championship in 1960 while physicians determine his chest pain is from angina.

Opens driving school at Riverside Raceway in California

source:  Carroll Shelby: An American Legend

 

 

 

 

Shelby American forms to produce Cobras (1961- 1967)

The first match of a Ford 260 V-8 and AC Ace is made in February 2, 1962, producing the Shelby Cobra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source: Shelby American Inc.

Originally built to be Corvette-beaters, Ford wanted to beat Ferrari.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CSX2601 is an iconic championship racer which took the manufacturers crown in the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) GT race class in 1965, holding the distinction of being the first American car to beat a Ferrari in world championship racing in Europe.

The 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra was one of only six built by Carroll Shelby to compete in FIA GT. It also features an experimental coupe body fitted to the Cobra chassis designed by Pete Brock which helped increase the car's top speed by 25 mph.

Source: Iconic 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe Could Fetch $15 Million at Auction  (World Car Fans.com)

The Legacy

Shelby's touch lead Ford to win LeMans, Mustangs to be race cars, Dodge Omni's to "Go Like Hell" and the DNA for the Dodge Viper.

His last car is a 1000 horsepower Shelby

 

 

 

 

 

 

A complex man who has affected North American performance vehicles for five decades.

Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market and American Car Collector, commented, "Carroll Shelby will be forever remembered as the man who single-handedly took the fight to Ferrari and beat them at their own game on their own race tracks. His spirit, his ingenuity and his ever-present sense of humor will be missed."

Godspeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

edit: added video

Posted by on May 11, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, cars, News, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

The Last Thursday Night Walk

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An unhappy milestone

It is Finals Week at the university. This time next week I will be participating in my last commencement as a full-time faculty member.

Not my plan, but my reality.

I tend to work late on Thursdays, hustling to get promised work completed "… by the end of the week."

Thursday night is student party night

Sitting in a fifth floor office on K Street, at the edge of campus, the first floor of the building includes a trendy lounge.

On Friday and Saturday nights the crowd is urban and elite. Expensive cars at the curb. Occasional appearance of celebrities with red carpet, police and spotlights.

The Thursday night crowd is younger, with higher heels and shorter dresses. Generally louder and more emotional.

If I have nodded off or lost track of time, the throbbing beat after midnight will roust me … or the security officer ringing the office doorbell.

Timing is everything

The EMT lab instructors were the first to alert me to the 10 pm parade of party-goers walking through campus on Thursday night. I don't remember seeing such beauty when I was slogging through Enormous State University. 

If my walk was at midnight, the street scene was different. Almost adults in full party mode … silly, happy, angry, sullen.

Cabs would slow down, drivers would beep their horn and make eye contact.  I guess they figured the old guy with a tie is a good fare.  Where were these guys when I need a cab at 7:30 in the morning?

Direct relationship between time and diner food quality

My Thursday tradition since 2005 includes a late dinner at an all night diner. I order the same roast beef/swiss on a roll.

If I get there by 8 pm, the sandwich is a marvel of taste, texture and appearance. Fries are light, hot and fresh.

After midnight the meat resembles dark cardboard, fries are cool and stale. I think they use a brick to press the sandwich into the grill.  Too sloppy to try to eat as a sandwich.

At least the guys get me two sodas right away. (Decision point + 25)

I am going to miss all of this.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 10, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , ,

Another Bent Treasurer Goes Down

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Easy Money Leads to Easy Arrest

THE FORMER CHIEF AND TREASURER OF A NEW JERSEY volunteer ambulance squad was arrested Monday and charged with hindering apprehension, third- and fourth-degree theft, witness tampering, obstruction and unsworn falsification. The case will be presented to a Burlington County grand jury for indictment.

James Daly, 42, was the Chief of the Beverly-Edgewater Park Emergency Medical Squad when, in May 2011, the treasurer became gravely ill and Daly took over the duties of the treasurer.  The Beverly-Edgewater Park Squad is a volunteer organization that has paid administrative officers and 15 part-time employees.  Within a few weeks of taking over the books, Daly phoned the accounting firm that handles their payroll and told them that he had just been given a $15,000 yr. raise above his current salary of $53,560 to $68,500.  Next he began using the Squad's credit account to purchase gasoline for his personal cars.

When the county prosecutor's office began investigating Daly, he produced a letter purportedly written by another member stating that Daly had been given the go-ahead to use the county gas by the ill, and since deceased former treasurer.  That letter was soon determined to be a forgery.

Following his arrest, Daly was released on $25,000 bond.  He was dismissed from the squad's rolls in November 2011.

The Burlington County Times has  more details HERE.

Hat tip:  Ron Y.

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Posted by on May 9, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, current events, EMS Topics, Law & Justice

More Municipal Motorcar Malfeasance

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Detroit Can Make Pikers of Any Other Band of Incompetents

IN YESTERDAY'S MORNING LINEUP (HERE) we told you about Miami-Dade County hiding away as many as 1,200 brand new yet unused, vehicles in various parking garages around the city.  Did I say "new"?  They were bought six years ago and have been parked ever since (excepting the bi-monthly maintenance).  If you missed it, follow the link for the story.

You might have thought that was bad, as I did, but we briefly forgot that the National Champion for Corrupted and Incompetent Cities is still owned, without any immediate threats to it's position, by Detroit, Michigan.  The city that fails to function every day of the year and is thinking about closing another 20 fire stations because they don't have any money to fix all the broken fire engines that are in the shop (behind the entire fleet of ambulances).

Feeling the pinch just as badly as the FD is the city's police department (which had a former police chief convicted for embezzling over $2 million in 1992, and another who was forced to quit 10 years ago while being investigated for numerous Federal crimes).  Now exposed is a matter more about incompetence than illegality, the excessive use of leased autos for the PD that are years beyond their leasing contract expiration but still being paid for.

Jalopnik reported on the costly scandal:

The Detroit Police Department is paying millions in full lease payments on cars with leases that expired up to six years ago. One of the cars is a 2004 Dodge Intrepid they've been paying $608 per month to keep.

The Motor City's 7 Action News sicked a team of investigative reporters on the Detroit Police, discovering that this mighty Dodge is one of a compliment of 110 vehicles with expired leases that the Department is paying to keep around. With model years ranging from 2004 to 2007, the city had two-year contracts for all 110 vehicles, and all of them are still on the road. Most have passed their initial mileage limit, racking up 15 cents per mile on top of the regular lease payments.

By now the cars are well used and aging, so maintenance costs are a real thing, too, with the potential of being compounded by wear and tear charges that are part of the lease agreement. Alan Reinstein, an accounting professor at Wayne State University told 7 Action News that the total cost for keeping 110 vehicles that should have been turned in years ago is about $4 million.

 Here is the video report from WXYZ-TV referred to in Jalopnik's story:

 

As you saw, the cops are rightly miffed about going without their pay raises to help pay for these valuable cars.

In 1933 the DPD bought an entire fleet of Chevrolet patrol cars

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Posted by on May 8, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, current events, News, Videos • Tagged: ,

Looney Trustee Starts Selling Off Fire Department Equipment

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Wants to Sell the Fire Engine Next

THE ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP, INDIANA, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT is being "sabotaged" by its Trustee Robert Uhrick.  The coot has decided that it costs too much to run a fire department and wants to force its closure so that the Township will contract with a neighboring  FD to cover their area, a suburb of Fort Wayne.

Chief Jerry Lencke  (WANE-TV)

Earlier this year Uhrick arbitrarily laid off the four full-time paid firefighters and then padlocked the bunkroom prohibiting the volunteer live-ins from staying there.  Yesterday (Saturday) Fire Chief  Jerry Lencke called a press conference to announce that on Thursday he received an email from Uhrick's wife that the department's boat, motor, and trailer had been sold and were taken from the storage bay where it had been kept.  Adding to the mess, Uhrick never notified the Allen County Dispatch Center that the boat had been removed from service.

Uhrick is claiming that the department is draining too much money from the township's budget, but Chief Lencke says that the budget has not only remained at the same level for the past three years, but they are under budget for the current fiscal year.

This video report from WANE-TV Ch. 15 goes farther into the story of what's going on:

 

Chief Lencke called the press conference in hopes that the citizens will become informed of what Uhrick is doing to their fire department.  Despite repeated requests by Lencke to have a meeting to discuss ideas for saving money, Uhrick constantly gives him the brush-off and refuses to talk with him.

Trustee Uhrick  (WANE-TV)

INC (Indiana News Center) is REPORTING that Uhrick admitted that he has put the fire engine and two other FD vehicles up for sale.  Read the INC story for more details on the looney trustee's thoughts and plans.

Update, May 11:
Firegeezer updated report with more information has been posted HERE.

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Posted by on May 6, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, apparatus, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Thieving Firefighter Avoids Jail Term

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Costly Prosecution for Small Town

KEVIN HOWARD, 44, WAS ONCE PRESIDENT of the Nahant, Massachusetts, firefighters union local and most recently served as the town's acting fire chief.  Now his current title is "convicted" following his recent trial in Lynn District Court.  Completing an investigation and trial that all began two years ago, Howard's case was continued after he admitted that he had stolen several thousands of dollars from the Local 2718's treasury during his tenure as president.

Kevin Howard  (Daily Item photo)

The Boston Globe is reporting today:

The case was continued without a finding after Howard admitted to sufficient facts to the charges and agreed to pay $14,000 in restitution. Howard also read a letter of apology.

Judge James LaMothe’s sentence also includes administrative probation, which carries an automatic two-year sentence if the terms are violated. The Essex district attorney’s office asked for a two-year sentence with six months served, and the balance suspended for three years of probation, plus restitution and an apology.

His troubles began more than two years ago when, as president, he acquired an ATM/debit card for the Local's bank account without anybody knowing about it.  He then began a systematic pattern of using the debit card to make thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals plus purchases of personal items for his home and use.  When he was promoted to the acting chief position in March 2010, the officers of the Local – acting on a tip – reviewed the union's books and discovered the unauthorized withdrawals.

At an April meeting with Howard, the Local's directors made a few offers to allow him to make good, including to resign from the fire department without making restitution.  Howard declined the offers and instead mounted an ill-conceived plan to obfuscate his way out of trouble by inventing personnel problems.  First he told the Town Aldermen that none of the firefighters were properly qualified as EMT's.  Then he told that cocaine use was rampant in the department and had recently been confronted by the current Local president who threatened to kill him (Howard) if he went public with the EMT scandal.

All of the allegations were quickly proven to be false and his defense collapsed.  The Globe continued:

"We can see the court’s side – they don’t want to hurt his family – and the union accepts the decision,’’ (union president Joshua) Mahoney said. "Obviously we’re disappointed, and we’d like to see him do jail time, not for [stealing money], but for what he did afterward. He lied, tried to slander us, and did everything he could to ruin our reputations in a small community where people have to trust us.’’

Neil Rossman, attorney for the union, said that members suspected that Howard took as much as double the $14,000 he agreed to make in restitution.

The Daily Item has additional details HERE.

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Posted by on April 26, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, crime, News • Tagged: , ,

UK Decision to Sell Off National Fire College Brings Widespread Complaints

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Crumbling Economy Leaving Fire-Rescue Destitute

BRITAIN'S NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE is running out of money, as are all the governmental entities in the once-great nation.  As funds shrink, the fire service departments have been undergoing schemes like consolidation and further consolidation of the consolidated departments.  Just recently it was announced that the already-combined fire-rescue departments in Scotland will be bunched into one national fire department.

Dispatch centers have been "centralized" with the result of calls for service coming from 50 or more miles away and the dispatch going to the wrong location.  The London Fire Brigade – one of the world's largest fire departments – cannot afford to buy fire engines and is leasing 500 firetrucks from a private company, AssetCo.  Now AssetCo is more than £8 million behind in its taxes and is facing liquidation as its stock price has dropped to 3 p. and other debts pile up.

Now it's the National Fire Service College that is adrift and broke.  The 500-acre campus with extensive training facitlities for every type of emergency is unable to maintain its facility and the buildings are starting to fall apart.  Aiding its deterioration was a decision several years ago permitting fire departments to utilize privately-run training programs at their discretion, removing the monopolistic franchise of the national academy.

National Fire Service College campus

Earlier this month the Communities Minister of the government, who oversees the Fire-Rescue Service, announced that the College will be sold to the highest bidder for the property.  This has brought outrage from all corners of the public, especially the union representing the 70 employees of the college.  BBC News is reporting today:

A report last year showed the government-owned site was "beset by debt and financial issues". Communities Minister Bob Neill said "disposal as a going concern" was the best option.

Philippa Childs, from Prospect, said: "The college is based in the middle of the Cotswolds, with training facilities considered to be the best in the world, but it's falling to bits. Government spending constraints have meant that no money could be spent on the infrastructure or recruitment, and staff have also faced a pay freeze."

Ms Childs (also) said: "Our members are worried about being transferred out of the public sector, not least because of the potential impact on their pay, pensions and other terms and conditions.

"It is also outrageous that a national resource such as this, which provides vital training to a key emergency service, should be privatised and thus subject to market forces which rely on making a profit in order to function."

Despite the widespread dissatisfaction with the decision, it has apparently been committed.

See also Guardian newspaper report on "London's fire engines may be sold off…"  from last May HERE.
AssetCo WEBSITE.
UK Fire Service College WEBSITE.
Also see Firegeezer postings from 2009:
"Let's Just Sell Off All the Apparatus" HERE.
"11 Fire Engines Burn Up in Britain" HERE, story of $2 million fire at unsprinklered building on Fire College Campus.

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Posted by on April 16, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Training, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged:

Technician Kyle Wilson and the lessons we can never forget

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Five years ago today

Last night Dave Statter shared his experience about the 2007 line-of-duty death of Technician I Kyle Wilson in Prince Wiliam County. (Dave's article HERE). Dave is concerned that the Virginia Tech massacre overshadowed the tragedy at 15492 Marsh Overlook Drive.

The after-action analysis and discussions were painful, emotional and worthwhile. I closely followed the process and spoke to with many of the participants. They are my friends and colleagues.

My "bully pulpit" is a textbook that is used by many for their Fire Officer I and II training.

In Chapter 16, "Fire Attack" this is how the section on Smoke, Wind, Size and Fire Flow looks in the second edition (2010).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's start the Fire Department Instructor's Conference week with an in-station drill on one of these topics:

  • Burning Type V residential structure behavior in high wind conditions
  • Determining initial attack fire flow in high wind conditions
  • Austere crew (thin staffed) fire attack procedures
  • Why the NFPA 1710 single family dwelling does not match your first due (you can find an analysis starting on page 188 of the Prince William report.)

NIOSH LODD report

Fire departments should develop SOP’s for incidents with high-wind conditions including defensive attack if necessary. Weather can be considered as critically important when at the extreme, and relatively unimportant during normal conditions.

Wind has a strong effect on fire behavior which includes supplying oxygen, reducing fuel moisture, and exerting physical pressure to move the fire and heat. Wildland fire fighters are very familiar with these effects of wind on the rate at which fire spreads.

According to Dunn, “When the exterior wind velocity is in excess of 30 miles per hour, the chances of conflagration are great; however, against such forceful winds, the chances of successful advance of an initial hose line attack on a structure fire are diminished. The firefighters won’t be able to make forward hoseline progress because the flame and heat, under the wind’s additional force, will blow into the path of advancement.

Fire fighters should change their strategy when encountering high wind conditions. An SOP should be developed to include obtaining the wind speed and direction, and guidelines established for possible scenarios associated with the wind speed and the possible fuel available, similar to that in wildland fire fighting. When the interior attack line has little or no effect on the fire, the line should be withdrawn and a second hoseline should be advanced on the upwind side of the fire. This method may require the use of an aerial ladder or portable ladder, if safety permits.

Prince William County report  (385 pages)

The major factors in the line of duty death of Technician I Wilson were determined to be:
• The initial arriving fire suppression force size.
• The size up of fire development and spread.
• The impact of high winds on fire development and spread.
• The large structure size and lightweight construction and materials.
• The rapid intervention and firefighter rescue efforts.
• The incident control and management.

Thanks to Dave Statter for making an important observation.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on April 16, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, Training & Development, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Promotional Opportunities

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More Turnover at the Top

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A PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF has been given a "30-day suspension with intent to dismiss" yesterday for failing to inform the fire chief that he had been arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct in a domestic dispute with his wife back in September.  Robert Wilkins, 50, pleaded guilty to the charges last month.  TV Channel 10 adds:

On September 24 of last year, police responded to the Quality Gas Station on York Road in Warminster for an assault report. When police arrived they found a woman who claimed she was assaulted by her husband while driving south on York Road in the vicinity of Street Road. While police say the woman suffered several facial injuries and bruises they claim she refused transport to the hospital and said she would seek private medical treatment.

Wilkens made news back in March 2010 when he shot a woman who had broken into his home in mid-day.  Wilkens was sleeping upstairs when she broke out the glass in a storm door and kicked in the front door of the house.  Hearing the noise downstairs, Wilkens grabbed a gun and confronted her.  When she turned and started running away, he shot her four times.  Despite the fact that she was running away and she was unarmed, no charges were filed because it was ruled to be "self defense" on the deputy chief's part.  (see video report from STATter911.)

His luck appears to have run out.  Monday's personnel action is reported HERE.

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PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI, FIRE CHIEF Charlie LaRose has been bounced from his position as a result of his participation in a scheme to steal city property and sell it to scrap dealers in St. Louis.  The Southeast Missourian is reporting:

LaRose had already been removed from his position as water/wastewater superintendent, along with three other public works employees, coinciding with a city investigation into the theft of scrap metal owned by the city. However, no charges have been filed against any of the fired men more than a month after suspicions surfaced.

City administrator Brent Buerck informed the board of aldermen in closed session Feb. 21 that four employees allegedly took wire from a city facility to a recycling center in St. Louis "for personal profit." After an internal investigation headed by Perryville police chief Keith Tarrillion, the workers were fired March 6.

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ORO-MEDONTE TOWNSHIP IN ONTARIO has just hired a new fire chief and they were waiting for Bob Davidson to report to work yesterday when he sent word that he wouldn't be taking the job after all.

The Barrie Examiner tells us:

Bob Davidson, who was recently named director of fire and emergency services/fire chief, has informed the municipality that he will not be taking the job for "personal and confidential reasons."  As a result of Davidson’s decision, Deputy Chief Hugh Murray was named acting Fire Chief by council on March 28.

Future and Former Chief Davidson

"When you manage to find somebody who fits the position as well as Mr. Davidson appeared to, and then to find out that he will not be coming to the position, there is a disappointment," said Mayor Harry Hughes. He would not give a specific reason for Davidson’s decision, stating it is a personnel issue that must be confidential.

Details in the Examiner HERE.

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Posted by on April 3, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Fire-ology, labor • Tagged: , ,

Fire / EMS – Related Reality TV Show In The Works

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PRESS RELEASE:  From R&M Video Productions (Hazy Management and Information Group for release on April 1, 2012):

The current rage on a number of the lesser known TV channels these days is "make over" or "business rescue" shows, where an expert is brought in to fix a formerly successful business that an inattentive or uncaring manager/owner has driven into the ground. We've seen the success stories of numerous bars, pubs, restaurants and hair salons but now stand by for " Fire Station Salvation", a new show coming to The Weather Channel in the fall.

Fire Station Salvation will focus on efforts to save fire stations and even whole fire departments around the world that have run into significant issues that have impeded performance of their jobs. Manpower issues, Hitler-like leaders, ancient apparatus, morale killing over-the-top regulations, demanding and unreasonable union officers and ill informed elected leaders all play a part in this insightful and exciting new series.

A board of expert, nationally known retired Fire Chiefs have been quietly assembled to act as Fire Station Salvation's Chief Engineers, with one of the former Fire Chiefs to be appointed as "Acting Chief" in the target fire station for a complete fiscal quarter, with full authority to make changes within the problem department, within existing budgetary guidelines. The Acting Fire Chief will have 90 days to show that their changes and ideas have turned the department around or led it to ruin. Each show will also feature a discussion panel of the department's existing officers who will express their opinions on the changes as they happen. Mixed in with all of this will be the unscripted and often chaotic emergency calls where life and limb are constantly at risk! Each episode will feature 3 different fire stations in rotation through the course of the 60 minute show but the show will re-visit fire stations at different times to update viewers on the Acting Fire Chief’s progress during his/her 90 days of change.

This Firehouse Needs Salvation!

The Fire Chiefs who have agreed to sit on our Board of Engineers will compete against each other for points that will determine who the winner is at the end of the season. The winner will get a much deserved vacation while the losers will have the option to return next season to compete again in a new, problem fire station.

While many of these "reality" shows use scripted conflict to generate fireworks between the cast members, Fire Station Salvation will rely on the personality conflicts between these tight-knit Fire and Rescue co-workers who seem to be constantly at odds with each other, their supervisors and the people they are supposed to protect.

Still unclear on the concept? Think of it as "Cops" meets "Rescue Me" with a little "Super Nanny" and "Wife Swap" thrown in!

Fire Station Salvation, a Rowan & Martin Production.

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Posted by on April 1, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, fun

Citizens Call for Reluctant Fire Chief to Resign

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Afraid to Let Firefighters Rescue Trapped
Woman Who Died From Delay

THE CHIEF OF SCOTLAND'S LARGEST FIRE RESCUE service is beseiged by citizens and politicians alike following the release yesterday of a scathing report on a bungled incident four years ago.  Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Chief Brian Sweeney is being blamed for the department's becoming increasingly "risk averse" and shunning difficult challenges.

Chief Brian Sweeney

The Herald summarizes the incident based in the report:

Alison Hume, a mother-of-two, fell 45ft down a disused mine near her home in Galston, North Ayrshire, in July 2008, but was not rescued for seven hours because firefighters feared the implications of health and safety laws.  Mrs Hume, 44, who had developed hypothermia, suffered a heart attack as she was brought out of the mineshaft. She later died in hospital.

In his report, the Chief Inspector of Scotland's Fire and Rescue Authorities, Steven Torrie, said there existed a perception the service was becoming increasingly "risk averse" in response to the challenges and action it had faced recently.  Mr Torrie said there was an "inexplicable lack of focus" on Mrs Hume's medical condition, the risk of hypothermia and the consequent time pressure for a rescue.

He described multi-agency working at the scene as weak, with little evidence of a professional discussion between police, fire and paramedics, nor of a shared risk assessment or decision-making.

Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley MSP Willie Coffey said a comment by Mr Torrie that the brigade was "not a learning organisation" was "a damning indictment of the senior management of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, and those involved should be considering their positions".

At one point a firefighter was lowered into the shaft, but the commanders halted the rescue attempt in a decion to wait for a "mountain rescue team" to arrive three hours later and they in turn took the same risks that the Strathclyde firefighters faced.

Despite being only 45 ft. down, the rescuers
spent nearly seven hours getting her out.

The full article in The Herald is HERE.

The Scotsman reports further HERE:

Yesterday’s report, commissioned by the Scottish Government and written by HM Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities Steven Torrie, sets out in clear detail how fire service responsibility for the rescue attempt was passed around during the crucial hours as Mrs Hume lay stricken in the mine shaft.

At first, a watch commander who arrived at the scene with a fire crew began attempts to lift her out of the mineshaft, after having formulated their own risk assessment as to the danger they could get into. However, he was over-ruled by a more senior officer who turned up at the scene who, a few hours later, was then replaced by a third commander. After that, another more senior commander also arrived.

Mr Torrie’s report sets out clearly that it was the decision to suspend the initial rescue attempt which was the "defining moment" of the incident.  Mr Torrie said another key factor had been a policy decision by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue effectively to rule out using lines in rescue attempts earlier that year, for reasons of safety.

The policy decision by the organisation, under Mr Sweeney’s control, "effectively removed the ability of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue staff to adapt existing equipment and skills to perform specialist rescues in a way which was very much routine within the fire and rescue service in general".

Read the entire official REPORT HERE.

Despite the outcry and political pressure, Chief Sweeney may well recover from this onslaught.  He has been a lightning rod for controversy for the many years he has been chief officer but manages to hang in there.  In 2008, just one month after this incident, he was criticized for spending the equivalent of $10,000 to have a private bathroom installed in his office that has such comforts as a heated towel bar.

The year before he was castigated for joining a $30,000-yr. private "dining club" and then started dating the director.  That was not long after the notable incident in Glasgow when the Muslim terrorist drove a bomb-laden car into the lobby of the airport and started a major fire. When Chief Sweeney arrived on the scene he had his 9-yr.-old son with him and took him along to the forward command unit. According to some newspapers, the inquisitive youngster erased the whiteboard that showed all the apparatus positioning while the fire was ongoing.

He is currently being considered to head the combined Scottish mega-fire rescue service scheduled to be created later this year when all departments will be merged into on national agency.

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Posted by on March 30, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire-ology

Kollege Kids Kreate Khaos with Sensationalized Story about a 100 mph freshman EMS responder

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Do I know a few people who need to read this! Too bad they wouldn't recognize the significance of it.

Objectionable Image of EMS Responder

Last week Candice King, a staff writer on the student-run The Ithican, wrote about freshman Joshua Cource's experience as a member of the all-volunteer Newton Volunteer First Aid Squad.

The first paragraph was troublesome for many EMS providers:

Freshman Joshua Couce has violated the speed limit on occasion. Couce might exceed 100 mph, but he is not behind the wheel of a sports car. He is driving an ambulance with an injured patient in the back.

You may want to stop and read the entire article: Voluntary response: College freshman focuses effort on providing emergency relief

(cue waiting music) Welcome back. Yeah, it got worse. 

More than 50 posted responses to the article, including this one, from Ben Abo (Pittsburgh) wondering about the level of certification for Mr. Cource:

My first shift in EMS was the day after I turned 16 in South Jersey. I, too, loved it. In fact, I've since had a great career as a paramedic, then physician and done a lot of EMS lecturing, mentoring, and research. I'm a huge supporter of collegiate EMS (in fact, I happily spend my Bday weekend every year to lecture at and take part in the National Collegiate EMS Foundation).

Again, there are a number of benefits even beyond patient care of having a squad on campus. But IF the ambulance can even get that fast, it shouldn't. There isn't a need. Furthermore, 40 hour course is for first responders… 110-120 for EMT basic, and a whole lot more for paramedic. Sooooo… which is it? @Michael Hayoun: right on. (Please see his posting below). @Josh Couce: Keep on the passion, but always be learning from things.

Accuracy, clarity and tone – the undergraduate challenge

The on-campus undergraduate experience includes testing limits, exploring options and making mistakes in a relatively secure environment. While far less insular than the campus of the 1960's, it still resembles a bubble of " near-adulthood."

This news article will serve as a "life lesson" for both Cource and King.

Just like the premature announcement of the death of Penn State Coach Paterno by student-run Onward State created a national media frenzy and the resignation of Managing Editor Devon Edwards.

Spending the last seven years working with undergraduate students, and their limit-testing learning, have made me less sensitive to the outrage expressed by many others.

Newton Volunteer First Aid Squad response

The Newton First Aid Squad regrets the comments that were made by Member Joshua Couce in the article published at www.theithican.org. The Squad would like to assure the members of the public and fellow emergency services workers that the actions described in the article are not in any way condoned by the Newton First Aid Squad. Mr. Couce had this article published without the knowledge or consent of the Squad and his actions described within the article were unknown to the Officers of this Squad until the publication of this article.

The Newton First Aid Squad does not condone the divulging of personal details of EMS calls to the public in any form nor does it condone the motor vehicle operations described within the article. The Newton First Aid Squad and its volunteer members strive to uphold the highest standards of EMS and these comments and actions are being taken extremely seriously.

Currently Mr. Couce has been suspended from the squad until a full investigation has been completed and any necessary disciplinary actions have been concluded. We regret that such statements were made as it negatively reflects on all aspects of EMS including both paid and volunteer EMS professionals and the Newton First Aid Squad who has proudly served the citzens of the Town of Newton since 1957.  FaceBook link HERE

The Scott Kier manifesto

A former New Jersey EMT, Scott "medicsbk.com" Kier posted a response on his blog that was promoted by The Happy Medic.

Bad Publicity and Saving Face.

Scott makes three annotated points:

  1. The Newton First Aid and Rescue Squad – First of all, a full admission of what knowledge of the article prior to its publishing needs to be explored and put into public record.
  2. Joshua Couce – Joshua needs to post an apology to all that were affected by this article. (Including a personal apology to Scott). [see Scott's comment]
  3. The New Jersey State First Aid Council, Maybe it is time to step in and offer them some guidance in how to handle the situation at hand.

<<<<<<< >>

Wow, Scott, this really got you angry. From my "keyboard commander" spot, it looks like using a 20 pound sledgehammer to swat a fly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organizational "Life-Lessons"

Scott makes some excellent points once you get past the anger.

The volunteer organization will need help in both responding to this crisis and in improving their public image. There may be issues with some of the incident pictures (license plates and patient faces) on their FaceBook page.

The state organization has an opportunity to move beyond clinical training. While NJSFAC provides college scholarships and reduced tuition, maybe some focused training on running a volunteer first aid squad in the 21st century would be helpful.

While the article did not provide identification of any patients, the description of a unique fatal event in a small town is far from anonymous.

Supervision and mentoring of younger members should continue until they are real adults, around 25 years old. Cource joined the first aid squad when he was 16. He is an 18 year old Senior Emergency Technician.

According to the article, Mr. Course is making a 400 mile round-trip from college to provide 12 hours of responder coverage to his hometown on Sundays. That's dedication!

Not sure that we need "the nuclear option" to resolve this issue.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 27, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, News, Training, Training & Development, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances • Tagged: , , , ,

Promotional Opportunities

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"I've been a huge fan of your website for the last year now and I wanted to send you
a HUGE Thank You for the work that you do. The website is great and we often
use it on Training nights at our Volunteer fire dept."

They Could Use a New Personnel Director, Too

THE CARLISLE, IOWA, FIRE DEPARTMENT is showing some openings at the top of the personnel chart following the sudden resignation of the fire chief yesterday (Monday) and their assistant chief as well.  Chief Scott Burger was riding in a car being driven by Assistant Chief Roy Galindo on Saturday night when a police officer pulled them over for speeding.

The officer found two open containers of "alcohol" in the front seat with them and after the standard roadside test he charged Galindo with DUI and also charged Burger with violating the open-container law.  This was Burger's second alcohol-related offense as chief.  In 2009 he responded to a medical call while he was under the influence and was suspended for 6 months following a hearing.  He turned in his resignation yesterday to take effect immediately.

Scott Burger  (KCCI-TV image)

Assistant Chief Galindo was already currently serving a suspension from his job for an undisclosed reason that the city council declines to reveal.  This latest incident has been referred to the County Attorney's office.

The Des Moines Register has the STORY.

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Posted by on March 27, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, current events, labor • Tagged: , ,

The “got-chas” keep on coming

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The Scrutiny Never Stops

About 600 members are attending the International Association of Firefighters Alfred K. Whitehead Legislative Conference in Washington DC this week.

Part of the agenda this afternoon was "Fighting Back and the State and Federal Level"

Today, Carl Campanile of the New York Post has an "exclusive" article about a what a disabled city firefighter is up to:

‘Disabled’ FDNYer with $95K pension now a NASCAR rescuer

Cliff Stabner, a 55-year-old city firefighter who retired in 2003 with a three-quarter disability pension of $95,000 annually, has surfaced as a member of the fire rescue team responding to crashes at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

photo by Lou Angeli used with permission

The Post has obtained photos of Stabner wearing an orange jumpsuit and a helmet and standing next to a rescue vehicle at Dover’s “Monster Mile’’ track.

Stabner also is a fire captain in his quaint new hometown of Lewes, Del.

Real and imagined issues

Like take-home cars (Miami-Dade, Fairfax), and on-duty shopping at a grocery store (Boston), almost every task or situation is subject to scrutiny and instant analysis.

It is not just fire, last month the Sun-Sentinel completed a three-month investigation on speeding police cruisers in Florida:

The Sun Sentinel uncovered the answers by digging into the officers' toll records. The findings:

  • 793 transponders assigned to police agencies from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach counties showed evidence of speeding — and habitual speeding by some officers.
  • One out of five police cars hit speeds above 90 mph.
  • Total high-speed incidents: 5,100 in a 13-month period.
  • Most of the high speeds — 96 percent — were between 90 and 110 mph.

Cops among Florida's worst speeders, Sun Sentinel investigation finds

Municipal life in the digital age.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

 

Posted by on March 26, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, News, Urban Commander • Tagged: , , , , ,

Playing the COMPLETE Advocacy game: pay attention when the Congressman is speaking at your reception.

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Need to add a topic to next year's EMS On The Hill Day pre-briefing

Wednesday was a long day for the participants at EMS On The Hill Day.

Dozens of people, including paid specialists in "lobby days" and political advocacy, spent hundreds of hours to get the maximum benefit of the advocates time. The golden ticket was face-to-face time with a Member of the Congress or Senate

Part of the Wednesday night reception included two brief presentations by Congressmen who are supportive of EMS.

Networking trumps decorum

Standing within five feet of Congressman Peter Roskam, it was hard to hear his amplified voice over the discussions going on in the back of the moderate-sized reception room.

Could barely hear the shout-out to his friends at Superior Ambulance. In fact, it was so loud in the room that many of us never heard the congressman introduced.

After most of the crowd quieted down, the speaker was still competing with two gentlemen that carried on an animated conversation throughout the five minute speech. The boys in the back were exchanging business cards as the congressman was wrapping up.

Just like fire guys

The EMS On The Hill reception shares the same behavioral issues observed at the Congressional Fire Service Institute dinner: chatter caused by attention deficit disorders, the fatigue of a long day on the Hill, maybe an extra adult beverage. The loud background chatter makes it difficult to pay attention to the honored guest who is speaking.

This same behavior bothered me after the 2008 Congressional Fire Services Institute Dinner:  Politically Appropriate Behavior

If the CFSI dinner was just for firefighters, the crowd chatter issue would be trivial. CFSI dinner guests are members of the congress, senate and federal government that we are trying to influence.

… I am sure some will not see my point about overwhelming crowd chatter diminishing the importance of the CFSI invited guests. But I think that the guests notice the noise.

When NAEMT was presenting the Legislator of the Year award to Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, the presenters were just a little louder than the background chatter.

Behavior predicts action

As part of the debriefing, political advocacy experts pointed out that those staffers and elected officials that were polite, paid attention and were engaged in the brief meetings on the Hill were most likely to move forward with the requests, instead of round-filing them as soon as you leave.

Not sure the two Congressmen could claim that they enjoyed a completely polite and engaged group at the reception.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 22, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics • Tagged: , , , ,

EMS On The Hill Day wrap-up

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Tired feet, wrinkled shirts

Go to jems.com to read the Wednesday night wrap-up.

Advocates Assess EMS on the Hill Day

Attendees advocated for four bills with mixed legislative response

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAEMT 2012 EMS On The Hill (photo from NAEMT with permission)

The 2013 EMS On The Hill is scheduled on the same week EMS Today, March 5 to 9, 2013

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 22, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, ambulances, EMS Topics, Funding & Staffing, News • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Fire Chief Faces Ethics Charges

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High Taxes Will Test One's Ethics

THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION has decreed that they have found "probable cause" that Lime Rock FD Chief Frank Sylvester has "used his public office for financial gain by registering and parking multiple cars at the district fire station for more than two decades, rather than at his home in Pawtucket."

GoLocalProv photo

The Providence Journal adds:

That financial gain is estimated at as much as $10,673.50, according to the commission's investigative report.

A probable cause finding is not a finding of guilt. It represents sufficient evidence "that reaches beyond mere suspicion," a threshold for moving the case to adjudication.

Sylvester has been fire chief of the 2-station department since 1988.

WPRI-TV Ch. 12 filed this brief video report:

 

Online newspaper GoLocalProv broke this story 19 months ago when they reported:

Frank Sylvester, the fire chief for the Lime Rock Fire District in Lincoln, registered two of his personal cars in Lincoln this year— a 2007 Lexus and a 2006 Ford Explorer. The tax rate on cars in Lincoln is $30.66 per $1,000 of the assessed value—compared to a rate of $53.30 in Pawtucket, which is the second-highest one in Rhode Island.

Sylvester paid a total of $1,245.56 in taxes on those cars to Lincoln, according to town tax records obtained by GoLocalProv. Had he paid taxes on those cars at the Pawtucket rate, he would have owed nearly $900 more in taxes, or $2,122.67 to be exact.

In 2009, Sylvester registered a third car in Lincoln—a 2003 Ford T-bird. In fact, tax records show that he has been registering one or more of his cars in Lincoln at least since 2004. And he has admitted to GoLocalProv that he has been registering his cars at his workplace since he became fire chief in 1988.

Sylvester told GoLocalProv he does not believe he is doing anything wrong. But if he were, he would be happy to register his cars in Pawtucket. "If it’s not right, I’ll change it, but it’s not against the law," Sylvester said. "I’m not breaking any law."

He said he started registering his cars at the fire station when he first started out as fire chief because he was using them to plow the driveway around the station. He continues to register the cars there, even though he stopped handling the plowing several years ago.

Sylvester has the law on his side, however.  When he checked on the legality of his tax-dodge a few years ago, an attorney at the DMV told him that what he was doing did not violate any of their laws.  We don't know if this conflicts with the town or city ordinances, though.

Read the complete, earlier report in GoLocalProv HERE.

Lime Rock Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on March 22, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Law & Justice, Videos