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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: ,

Let’s Pretend We Have a Rescue Squad

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Wilmington Rolls Out the Trailer Squad

WHEN THE PENCIL-PUSHERS IN THE WILMINGTON, Delaware, Fire Department decided to lay off 17 firefighters, they worked out a plan that looked oh, so good on paper.  They will just park the two, now-unmanned rescue squad trucks behind two of their front-line engines.  And then when an alarm comes in that calls for a squad in the box, the two firefighters will drop back and bring the squad.

Not so fast, says the union Local.  Their contract plainly states that there will be a minimum of four firefighters on each piece of apparatus.  An arbitrator agreed with the Local and it was back to square #1 for the pencil-pushers.

Lou Angeli, publisher of the commentary blog Fire-Rescue-EMS Around the World tells us what happened next:

In a somewhat bizarre effort to meet the arbitrator’s demand, the Fire Administration has proposed purchasing three (3) 18-foot trailers, which would carry rescue and haz-mat equipment to incident scenes by towing them behind the existing Squad Pumpers (Squads 1 and 3) and the Haz-Mat pumper (Engine 6). The city says that such a change would allow the 4-person crew to remain together on a common apparatus, while at the same time carrying the tools needed for technical rescue.

This is a Rescue Squad  (Lou Angeli)

Fire administration supports their decision saying that the use of pumper-trailers by fire suppression units is "a popular trend" among the nation’s departments. It is true that the concept of using trailers to haul specialty equipment has been around for several years now, however the towing vehicle is never a pumper with a ball hitch, but rather a dedicated vehicle like a Ford F-550 or even a small 5th wheel tractor.

This is Not a Rescue Squad  (Lou Angeli)

Lou goes on to point out the folly of trying to convert a pumper into a tow vehicle, including some things the pencil-pushers never thought of, such as installing the auxilliary trailer air brakes in the fire engine, for example.

Read the entire story in his fire BLOG HERE.

At least one of the City Councilmen isn't impressed.  The Wilmington News Journal quotes him:  Councilman Stephen L. Martelli said the idea of large vehicles towing trailers "seems to be a bit problematic off the jump,"  That same article quotes the Local president as saying that pulling an 18-ft. trailer would be a navigational nightmare.  (not to mention prohibiting the pumper from laying a supply line.)

Read the News Journal's story HERE.

Firegeezer is not familiar with this "popular trend," as the pencil-pusher calls it, of pumper-trailer combo's springing up across the USA.  Can anybody help me out here?

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Posted by on May 14, 2012 • Filed under: apparatus, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: ,

Looney Trustee Update

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Inexplicable Actions Have Many Wondering

FOLLOWING THE FIREGEEZER REPORT on Sunday about the loose cannon Trustee of St. Joseph Township in Indiana, we all were wondering how this man was legally able to do the things he did.  (See the Firegeezer REPORT HERE.)  Robert Uhrick has arbitrarily disbanded the EMS activities and sold off the two ambulances at a fraction of their value.  Then last week he sold the boat, motor and trailer without telling anybody until it was done and delivered.  Nobody in the fire department was aware that the boat had been taken from its storage shed until the next day.

Trustee Uhrick  (WANE-TV)

Now the Trustee has told the fire chief that his next move is to sell the fire engine and other equipment, then ask for bids from neighboring departments to provide coverage to their area.  In effect, he wants to shut down the fire department entirely.  It is staffed by three paid volunteer chief officers and the rest of the members are all volunteers as well.

Firegeezer recently had a telephone interview with Fire Chief Jerry Lencke who gladly answered my questions about these topics and filled me in on some of Uhrick's recent actions and the problems they have caused.  Chief Lencke tells us that St. Joseph is one of the most prosperous townships in the state and they do not have any sort of a budgetary problem.  In fact, the twp. has not had to take out a loan for anything in the past 20 years.

The township which is located in Allen County, is overseen by one Trustee who is elected by the citizens.  That is the aforementioned Robert Uhrick.  He has held that position for many years and is usually uncontested at election time.  The Trustee is guided by a committee of three "advisors" who do not have any direct authority over him.  Uhrick's daughter is one of the advisors and his wife is the Township Clerk.  (Nepotism, anybody?)

St. Joseph Twp. Fire Station  (Fire Dept. photo)

The Township owns the fire station and all of the equipment in it.  The VFD is a chartered corporation/fire department, but it does not own any of the equipment.  Trustee Uhrick is solely responsible for the budget and he creates it.  Chief Lencke tells me that they do not have any problem staying within the budgetary limits and this current fiscal year he is under-budget.  There is no monetary problem with the fire department.

The boat that was recently sold sub rosa was worth approx. $8,000 and was fully paid for.  Uhrick offered it to a fire department in another county for half-price, $4,000, and they accepted the offer.  After the boat and trailer were picked up, Uhrick had his wife send an email to Chief Lencke at 9 pm that said, in its entirety:

We have received an offer for purchase and have sold the boat, motor and trailer.  It was picked up this evening……Trustee Uhrick.

That was the first anybody had learned that this was even being considered.  Just as surprised was the Allen County Dispatch Center who still had the emergency unit marked in service.  They next had to go through the labor of revising all of their run cards for the water rescue running orders.  Also, the clueless trustee let the purchaser go off with the equipment that was in the boat (safety vests, throw bags, strobe light, etc.) forcing the township to purchase replacements to be placed on their squad truck.

Chief Lencke  (WANE-TV)

Up until four months ago the dept. had four full-time firefighters to provide constant coverage, but they were laid off.  Then Uhrick had a locksmith come in and padlock the locker room and bunk room.  The department had four live-in volunteers who provided full coverage at nights, but now they are unable to stay there because of this psychotic behavior.  Now when there is a night fire, there is a several-minutes delay in response because everybody is coming from home.

Eighteen months ago, the township purchased $500,000 in vehicles including a pumper, two utility vehicles and a new ambulance.  Like the boat, the ambulance was sold off at a fraction of its value when Uhrick disbanded the EMS coverage and turned it over to a private ambulance firm.  Now he says that he will do the same thing with the fire engine.  As township trustee, he has the legal authority to do these things, even destructive actions such as we have pointed out.

Nobody knows why Uhrick is doing these things.  He has been ducking any questions and has refused for several weeks to have any face-to-face meetings with the fire chief.  Attempts to call him are screened by his wife and she refuses to connect the calls.

Firegeezer will be staying with this situation and will keep you informed of whatever transpires in this Bizzaro world that Uhrick has set up.

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Posted by on May 11, 2012 • Filed under: apparatus, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • 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: , , ,

Why Background Checks Are Necessary

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Always, Always….

THERE WAS NATIONWIDE COVERAGE this week given to the tragic event in New Hampshire where a police chief was killed and four other officers wounded in a botched attempt to serve a search warrant.  The raid was aimed at ridding the town of what the police called "a menace," referring to the culprit Cullen Mutrie.

When the operation was wrapped up, the police found Mutrie and his girlfriend both dead from apparent suicides or murder/suicide.  While the news was rightly focused on the tragedy of the police officers, we would learn a few things if we take a look at the drug dealer, Cullen Mutrie.

For the past several years, despite his growing criminal record, Mutrie was serving as a volunteer firefighter and had hopes to become a paid firefighter on a New Hampshire department.

2006 mug shot Portsmouth NH police

His criminal history begins in 2003 when he had a violent confrontation with a former girlfriend who had get a court protective order against him.  WMUR-TV posts:

(She) claimed Mutrie, "forcefully grabbed me, choked me and pulled my hair … as well as pushed me down several times." The woman also said Mutrie was "threatening," was "prone to jealous rages" and indicated he had guns and knives in his possession.

On Dec. 12, 2003, she accused Mutrie of calling her, "intoxicated in a rage, asking where I was and verbally abusing me. I then woke up on Dec. 13 to find two of my car tires slashed," she wrote, "I am very scared of him because of our history and his explosive behavior and past history of violence."

In 2005 he applied for a gun license and was denied "due to his criminal background" according to court records.

In 2006 he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault following a fight with another man, but the next year he applied to the court to have the conviction dismissed and be permitted to have a trial on the charges.  His reasoning was that he had been given poor legal advice from his lawyer to told him that a misdemeanor conviction would not prevent him from getting a job as a firefighter.  He since found out that was not the case and wanted to get his record cleared.  At the time he told the court he has been working as a volunteer firefighter for seven years and has been going to school nights and weekends "to get certified."

Hampton Falls Fire Chief Jay Lord said Mutrie was a volunteer firefighter from 2004 to July 2010. He said Mutrie was nice and polite and dreamed of a career in the fire service.

In 2010 he was arrested again for beating up another woman.  He was ordered then to surrender any guns that he possessed, but the woman told police later that there were still several in the house.  A report by Officer Wayne Young quoted the victim as saying Mutrie had "a few" guns in his bedroom, one in his vehicle, one in his living room and that he usually carried another one on his person. So local police went to Mutrie's home on July 24, 2010 to collect them.  It was then that they found more contraband in his house and arrested him on drug charges again.

In February of this year the state drug lab sent more evidence of drug possesion and it was this week's raid that was based on this recent report.

On his Facebook page that was recently created (and is no longer posted) he claimed that he was currently working for the Hampton Falls FD and also studying "paramedicine" at a local community college.

Mutrie is at the far right in the above photo.  He was 6'-2" and weighed 260 lbs.

There are several lessons in this relating to the necessity of background checks for firefighter and EMT applicants.  Mutrie was obviously trying to construct a phony resume here, including a Linked In account.  Just "surfing the web" does not equate to a bona fide investigation.  And there is no excuse to avoid performing this function.  Firegeezer has been preaching this for years, yet there are still hundreds of departments who skip this necessity.  It's not enough that they are "nice and polite."

Thanks to Mark Donovan for research assistance.

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Posted by on April 14, 2012 • Filed under: crime, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, investigations, labor

Morning Lineup – April 12

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Thursday Morning – Why Does The Ambulance Have a Credit Card Reader?

Ever since municipalities found out that they could charge ambulance patients for care and transportation and get away with it, the practice has become universal along with the higher health insurance premiums that have been jacked up to pay for them.  It has always been my opinion that if the EMS is part of a government agency and thus funded through the tax base, then it is immoral and just plain wrong to tack more charges onto the emergency for the helpless victim.

Many areas are served by volunteer rescue squads and I don't have a problem with them billing the insurance because they have to "fund raise" in any method that works for them.  But a governmental agency?  Nooooo.

With the current economic dip that is bringing in reduced taxes that fund things like fire departments and, in some areas, ambulance service, there seems to be two philosophies on how to make up the shortfalls that are confounding the governing bodies.  Cities and counties that are served by private EMS companies start eyeing those lush bills for service (pretending that all of them are collectible) and they say, "Let's take over the ambulance service, stick it under the fire department, and then WE can collect the bills.  We need the money."  On the other hand, some scheming councils where the FD is already providing the service decide that it's too costly and choose to dump the EMS from the city's service and contract with the private firm to run it, letting them collect the payments and try and make ends meet.  They usually do that by using lower-quality ambulances and equipment combined with lower salaries and benefits that insure a constant turnover in EMT's and shoddy service.

Neither one of those solutions work out because one basic principle still applies:  You can't get something for nothing!  Although I believe that part of the decision-making is based on just postponing the inevitable to balance the current budget and put off the responsible decisions until later.  That's the kind of policy that has led scores of cities into near-bankruptcy.  They won't face up to the fact that if you want a well-trained ambulance crew to show up in a servicable vehicle, then you have to collect the money and pay for it and that usually involves taxes being used.

But now a third, and perhaps more effective way of collecting the funds needed to keep the rigs on the road has surfaced.  The AP is reporting from San Juan, Puerto Rico this week:

Puerto Rico police have detained two paramedics suspected of fatally shooting a competitor from another private ambulance company whom they accused of stealing one of their patients.

Police Capt. Maida Ortiz says 31-year-old Luis Deida Martinez was eating breakfast at a bakery Wednesday when two men walked in, shot him and drove away in an ambulance.

Ortiz says the victim had argued with the two men on Tuesday after his wife picked up a patient that the alleged shooters claimed should have gone in their ambulance. The wife is a paramedic for an ambulance company she ran with her husband.

It's whatever works best for you, I guess.

And what works best for us is to start the shift with a good equipment check and get ready for the day.  I'll get some more coffee started before somebody shoots me.  See you back in the day room later.

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Posted by on April 12, 2012 • Filed under: ambulances, Funding & Staffing, morning lineup

Job Opportunities – Firefighter I/II

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Now Accepting Applications
Prince George's County, Maryland

Starting Salary $40,848 annually

Applications Accepted On-Line Only!

Closing date April 20.

Full details and instructions for applying are HERE.

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Posted by on April 6, 2012 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged:

2-Alarm Marina Fire Destroys 20 Boats, Kills 2 Less Than a Year After City Saves Money by Getting Rid of Their Only Fireboat

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Husband and Wife Believed to Have Perished on Their Houseboat

A 2-ALARM BLAZE AT A BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON, MARINA Friday morning has destroyed up to 20 boats along with a number of boathouses.  Two people are still missing and feared dead when they were apparently trapped on their 42-ft. recreational trawler.

Bellingham Herald

The fire began around 5:30 am at a boat dock that extended several hundred feet into the harbor with many of the boats carrying fuel that caused a series of explosions as the fire moved along the dock.  The FD was hampered in their firefighting efforts by a lack of access to the fire, having to attempt reaching the blaze with handlines from other docks.  The Bellingham Herald reports:

The boats were docked beneath individual metallic boathouses, each about a foot apart, (Assistant Fire Chief) Christensen said. Flames destroyed the entire line of shelters, with the boats inside, before firefighters could extinguish the blaze. Port officials weren’t sure exactly how many boats were housed there Friday morning.

Typical boathouse/dock construction at the
Bellingham Marina.  (KING-TV)

The city decommissioned an old fire boat, Fire Belle, last year and didn’t replace it because of the cost. "We were unsuccessful in securing funds to replace it," Christensen said. "We could have used it today." Crews were only able to get to the fire from nearby docks. G Dock East is among the farthest from shore, about a quarter-mile out near a breakwater.

"When you fight fire, you want to be able to fight it from multiple sides," Christensen said. "(A fire boat) is the perfect tool."

Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Boyd was reluctant to get rid of the boat, but said at the time that it was necessary to do so to provide other basic fire and emergency-medical services. Keeping the boat cost the city about $30,000 a year.

KING-TV

Investigators are studying candid photos and videos in an attempt to determine the point of origin of the fire.  The blaze was knocked down and largely extinguished in two hours, but several areas and pilings continued to smoulder  throughout the day.

KING-TV posted this video report:

 

Read the entire article in the Bellingham Herald HERE.

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Posted by on March 31, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, Funding & Staffing, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Kansas City Council Votes to Slash FD Budget

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Chose to Ignore Fire Chief's Warnings

THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, COUNCIL cast their final vote on the next fiscal year budget Thursday night and passed the bill including the city manager's request for a $7.6 million reduction to the fire department.  After going through the charade of taking testimony and "considering" alternatives, they approved the budget without specifying what will be reduced in the FD.  However, the city manager and mayor have been insisting that it will be achieved by laying off 105 firefighters, preferably by reducing the minimum staffing of every engine from four to three.

City Manager Schulte  (K. C. Star)

For the background and details of these negotiations, be sure to review the earlier Firegeezer reports on these plans HERE and HERE.

As we pointed our earlier, most of these cuts are not savings, but instead being used to give employees in other agencies pay raises.  This new budget sets aside $5 million to fund raises for police officers.  Another $5 million will go to raises for other city employess, but none for firefighters.  The mayor's office budget will be getting a $675,000 increase to hire more people for his fiefdom.

KSHB-TV reported from council chambers last night with this video report:

 

The Kansas City Star has the STORY HERE.

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Posted by on March 30, 2012 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor, Videos • Tagged:

Firefighter Job Openings

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City of Lexington, Virginia
Calls For Firefighter / Medic Applicants

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The City of Lexington is currently accepting applications for Firefighter/Medic. The job description and applicationare available on-line and must be returned to City of Lexington, Human Resource Office, 300 East Washington Street, Lexington, VA 24450 by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, 2012. Salary Range: $32,884 – $39,089.

Requirements for position of Firefighter/Medic
*Firefighter I (Firefighter II preferred)
*EMT-I or P
*Hazardous Materials Operations
*Driver Pump Operator (preferred)
*High School Diploma or GED
*Valid Current Drivers License with good driving record
*Ability to pass Background check satisfactorily
*Ability to pass required physical examination
*Current CPR
*EVOC

The Lexington Fire Department is a combination department delivering full service Fire, EMS, and All Hazards response to over 50 square miles of area serving the citizens of Lexington and Rockbridge County. We are a very busy department with a wide variety of call types and target hazards to challenge all of your skills.

Full time positions with the City include a competitive fringe benefits package including 80% premium paid family health insurance (90% premium paid individual health insurance), employer paid participation in the VRS retirement and life insurance system, and paid vacation/sick leave. Optional participation in various insurance policies available, as well as deferred compensation and flexible spending accounts for childcare and medical expenses.

Applications may be obtained at City Hall, 300 East Washington Street, and are valid for 45 days from date of submission.  Please contact our Human Resources office for additional information (540-462-3729), or e-mail: hr@lexingtonva.gov.

Learn about Lexington at http://www.lexingtonva.gov/about.html and more about the Lexington Fire Department at www.Lexingtonfire.org

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Posted by on March 22, 2012 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor, Recruiting • 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: , , , , , ,

Ms. Medic goes to Washington

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Third annual EMS On The Hill Day tomorrow

Close to 200 ems providers will be visiting their elected officials on Capitol Hill tomorrow.

This is the third annual "EMS On The Hill Day".

A National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) advocacy for selected legislation that impacts emergency medical services. An effort assisted by Advocates for EMS.

For the first time, the American Ambulance Association is participating in this event.

2012 Legislative Focus on three pieces of legislation

Support of Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act (S. 424, H.R. 1005) by Senators Schumer, Roberts and Conrad in the Senate and Congressmen Boustany and Neal in the House.  The Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act would implement the findings of the GAO report by replacing the current temporary relief with a 5-year adjustment of 6% for urban and rural ambulance service providers and a 5-year extension of the super rural payment for extremely rural providers. This is the third year NAEMT has advocated for a more permanent ambulance reimbursement solution.

Co-sponser the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act (S. 1696, H.R. 4018) by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, and Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith. This extends the death and other benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program to non-profit nongovernmental paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who die or are severely injured in the line of duty. This is the third year NAEMT has advocated extension of this benefit.

In the House, co-sponsor the Field EMS Quality, Innovation, and Cost-Effectiveness Improvements Act of 2011 (H.R. 3144), by Representative Tim Walz (D-MN). In the Senate, please support efforts to promote and cosponsor similar legislation once companion legislation is introduced.

H.R. 3114 addresses many of the challenges impeding the ability of EMS to better fulfill public expectations that all who need emergency medical care in the field can depend upon the highest quality of care and transport to the most appropriate clinical setting. Among the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report, "Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads" (2006) recommendations addressed in H.R. 3144 is the establishment of the Department of Health and Human Services as the primary federal agency for EMS and trauma. The legislation also would establish new EMS grant programs; enhance research initiatives; and promote high quality, innovation and cost-effective field EMS.

More details at NAEMT Requests and Talking Points web page.

AAA joins NAEMT On The Hill

The American Ambulance Association scheduled its board meeting today and is providing a "Reimbursement Task Force Meeting" this afternoon that is open to all EMS On The Hill attendees.

Becoming a tradition

In 2011, 145 EMS professionals from 39 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico met with more than 217 U.S. Senators, House Representatives, and their congressional staff to advocate for EMS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2011 Kansas delegation, including NAEMT President Connie Meyer (left center) meets with U.S. Representative Lynn Jenkins. Other members of the delegation are Terry David, Chris Way, Kerry McCue and John Hultgren. (NAEMT photo)

More details tomorrow

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 20, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Health & Safety, EMS Topics, Funding & Staffing, News • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

The “Firegeezer Freeway” project

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A more permanent recognition

Psst!

While Bill is temporarily away from the keyboard, I want to float an idea to get a portion of a neighborhood road named after his blog.

Virginia naming rights

The General Assembly approved the concept of selling naming rights to public roads.

Liz Essley covered this development for the Washington Examiner:

Drive it, buy it, name it Virginia is preparing to sell naming rights for its roads and bridges.

Costs will vary, but proposals include:

  • Major interstates like I-95: $200,000 in urban areas, $75,000 in rural
  • Primary Roads like Glebe Road in Arlington: $20,000 to $50,000
  • Secondary Roads like Burke Centre Parkway in Fairfax: $5,000 to $17,500
  • Tunnels and a ferry: $3.1 million total
  • 25 interchanges: $19 million total

Source: Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

from the March 17 "Name a Virginia road for $5,000 to $200,000"

 

 

 

 

We may get a bigger bang for our money if we name a road in Roanoke (!!)

Or maybe a small road near the Seven Corners fire station in Falls Church.

Who knew so many fireems bloggers lived in Virginia!

Just thinking ….

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 19, 2012 • Filed under: Funding & Staffing, News • Tagged: , , , , ,

Delay, Defer and Reduce

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"This department is being held together with bubble gum, baling wire and duct tape," says Pat McOsker, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.

This video shows Dirk Steinhardt riding with Chicago Tower Ladder 14 last September. They were using a reserve rig when Dirk was there.

Ride along with Tower ladder 14 of the Chicago fire department responding to a fire. Engine 117, engine 113, truck 26 and a battalion were also on scene. It was actually a small electric fire. Truck 14 normally runs a new Pierce rig but it was out of service for some reason so that they had to use this older truck.

The rattles, groans, slow/dim/not working emergency lights when E252 responds (a the 1:20 mark) reminded me of another complication of multiple years of budget crisis.

The rate of vehicle replacement is slowed down, routine maintenance is deferred and shop staff are reduced. 

A Spiral of Increasingly Worse Performance and Critical Failures

The optimum time to replace a vehicle is when its total costs, averaged over the vehicle's lifetime, are at a minimum. That is determined by looking at the operating expenses, maintenance, downtime and deprecation.

The New York State Comptroller shared data they accumulated on local government automobile maintenance costs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During a 1980s budget crisis, a suburban Virginia county tried to get more than 200,000 miles from all vehicles. For police cruisers, the cost-per-mile maintenance approached $0.30 per mile.

The sweet spot for Ford Crown Vic police cruisers used by some large law enforcement agencies was 50,000 miles. After that point, major maintenance expenses (transmission, air conditioning compressors, electronics, etc.) would start accumulating.

Putting all of the factors creates the "Economic Life" of a vehicle:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What happens when a municipality tries to keep apparatus well beyond their economic life?

Pictures by Gordon J.Nord, Jr. of the front-line Tower 14 at a greater alarm fire December 14, 2011.

Source Chicago Area Fire.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 19, 2012 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Urban Commander, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

LAFD Woes Continue

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It's All Starting to Come Out Now

THE VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR of Los Angeles (California) is exposing more failures of the City Council and the Mayor.  Among the agencies which are coming up short is the Fire Department.  That fine agency has been undermined by the current mayor who has slashed the FD budget by 16% in recent years, instituted rotating station brown-outs, and eliminated units from one-fourth of the city's 106 fire stations.  All this time the mayor and Fire Chief Brian Cummings have been saying that the department is doing okay despite the large cuts.

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)

But one of their "proofs" of success, the average response times were found to be based on jiggered numbers and are really noticably slower than they had admitted to.  (See the Firegeezer article from March 11, LAFD Admits Inflating Response Times Favorably HERE.)  As more people from the political opposition and reporters from the local press start looking behind the facade, even more deception is being exposed.  Yesterday (Saturday) a columnist for the Los Angeles Times unloaded on the mayor and fire chief for the deterioration of the FD since they have taken control.  Some quotes from Stephen Lopez's detailed commentary indicate that all might not be well in the city:

Nobody was lying, we're told. But the Fire Department has now switched to a more accurate formula for tracking response times.

How hard can this be?  Your house is on fire, you call the Fire Department, and they show up in either four minutes, five, six, 10, whatever. Does it have to be more complicated than that?

It was on the basis of the rosier information that the mayor and council agreed to big cuts. Now Fire Chief Brian Cummings admits the department should have made clear that it had switched to a different formula, and both he and Villaraigosa tell us both formulas were accurate.

Huh?

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They also said public safety hasn't been compromised by the mothballing of equipment as part of a plan to save $200 million over three years. How could it not be compromised?

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"This department is being held together with bubble gum, baling wire and duct tape," says Pat McOsker, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City.

"Forty percent of the time we are not getting there in time to prevent brain death," said McOsker, referring to the length of time it generally takes for someone who's not breathing to suffer lasting injury.

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Mid-City resident Mike Eveloff has been doing his own spade work, demanding Fire Department records and crunching numbers. When you remove equipment from service and shutter or partially shutter fire stations, you're playing a game of Russian roulette, said Eveloff.

"You see them on longer and longer runs because they don't have as many firefighters. As an example, my station, 92, they were sent 14 miles away to the eastern part of Hollywood with red lights and siren. It's happening all the time," said Eveloff.

"If you look into the eyes of these guys, they are beat to death."

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"When I first came on, retirement was a sad day for the retiree. Now it seems like the retiree can't leave soon enough."

Apparently the shell game has extended into the maintenance division.  A combination of harder usage on the trucks coupled with a 30% reduction in the number of mechanics has left the fleet shaky and unreliable as more reserve apparatus are being used while normal repairs are backlogged as much as a month.  Now the reserve fleet is failing from the excess work.

Read Steve Lopez's entire commentary HERE.

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The LA Times has followed up with a separate article about the falling-apart of the emergency dispatch center.  They tell about a day recently where a woman had her hand mangled in a piece of machinery and had to wait 45 minutes before any help arrived because the dispatch system had just failed:

The dismemberment occurred March 7, when a brief equipment failure left dispatchers unable to alert fire stations. At a firehouse in Harbor Gateway near Torrance, just a mile from the bleeding woman, the alarms never rang, according to firefighters.

"I was in horrible, horrible pain," said Wafer, 36, who was later told by a doctor that too much time had elapsed to reattach her finger.

Firegeezer comments:  I find it amazing that nobody in that huge dispatch center had the presence of mind to call the nearest station by land line and get a unit started right away.  Don't you have to take a test or something in order to work there?

Read the detailed article on problems at the 9-1-1 center HERE.

Firegeezer adds further:  Having observed the LA Times' past behavior which includes dubious reporting by partial disclosure of facts and events, I recommend that we pause and give the FD time to get back to work on Monday and see if they address these charges.

Hat tip to:  Mike T.

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Posted by on March 18, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, apparatus, commentary, dispatch, Dispatch & Communications, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged: , , ,

California County Warned About Possibility of 20% Reduction in Fire Protection

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Plummeting Tax Revenue the Culprit

THE EAST-BAY REGION CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, California, is facing the possibility of a severe cutback in fire protection service unless a special "per parcel" tax is approved by the voters this November.

Contra Costa Fire Chief Daryl Louder surprised the county board of supervisors Tuesday night with his projection of needing a $90 special tax to maintain current levels of protection.  The Contra Costa Times reports:

No tax has been put on the ballot yet. But the rate the chief quoted is more than double what supervisors were told last year in preliminary talks, and they publicly rebuked Louder over the unpleasant surprise.

"We do need a measure," said Supervisor John Gioia, of Richmond. "But we have to be sensitive to what the public is willing to pay and balance that with the needs of the fire district. Before we put an amount out there, it needs to come to us. I don't want to be kept in the dark."

But Louder said the money would avert a "catastrophic" shutdown of six of the district's 28 fire stations and the loss of 63 firefighters from the existing staff of 261.

Response times will drop, the agency will have less capacity to help its neighbors in big incidents and fire insurance on shops and homes will rise, the chief said.

The district already falls short of standards set by the International City/County Management Association of one firefighter per 1,000 residents. Under that standard, Contra Costa should have 600 firefighters for its 600,000 residents.

The staffing ratio would drop to one-third of a firefighter per 1,000 people without the tax revenues and "there is no jurisdiction in the nation with our level of risk that has staffing levels that low," Louder said.

The precipitous shortfall is directly the result of plummeting real estate values leading to declining tax revenues.

Read the entire article HERE.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District WEBSITE.

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Posted by on March 15, 2012 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Fire Chief Wants to Restructure

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Fewer Stations Without Layoffs

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, FIRE CHIEF CHUCK HUBBARD is expected to meet with the city council tonight (Monday) and present a plan to improve the fire department's response times and coverage of the service area.

Ann Arbor has seen its fire protection shrink in the past ten years with the closing of one of their six fire stations and a 30%  reduction in the number of firefighters on duty.  A recent study by the ICMA knocked the city for not meeting the minimum standards for responses and 2-in-2-out practice.

Chief Hubbard's plan which will be presented at an open meeting calls for the closing of two more stations and rearranging the apparatus to better utilize the staffing.  AnnArbor.com, the city's digital newspaper, reports:

Hubbard's restructuring proposal is aimed at making sure the fire department is better suited toward meeting national standards, including the NFPA rule that says four firefighters should arrive at a fire within four minutes 90 percent of the time, and 13 firefighters should arrive within eight minutes 90 percent of the time.

The proposed restructuring plan calls for positioning two engines, one tower, one mini pumper and one battalion chief at Station 1 downtown. Another two engines and one mini pumper would be positioned at Station 2, and one ladder truck would be positioned at Station 5 off Plymouth Road near the University of Michigan's North Campus.

Hubbard claims the staffing proposal enables four firefighters to be dispatched to most scenes within the recommended industry response times.

The chief's 15-page plan can be viewed HERE (.pdf file).

The full article in AnnArbor.com is HERE.
See related editorial on public safety cuts in Ann Arbor HERE.
Ann Arbor Fire Department WEBSITE.

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Posted by on March 12, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Response times • Tagged: ,

Saving Money Instead of Lives – cont’d.

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Novel Proposal For Filling Empty Positions

THE TOWN OF SIDNEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, ON VICTORIA ISLAND has come up with a unique solution for staffing fire engines and ambulances that currently don't have enough people on duty to get them out the door.

Fire Chief Jim Tweedhope has only four full-time firefighters and the town relies heavily on volunteers to fill out the coverage.  But most of the volunteers work regular jobs and are not usually available during the weekdays.  Chief Tweedhope has asked the town council to increase the budget to gradually bring the number of paid firefighters up to eight so that they would be more assured of having two people in the station to respond to ambulance calls.  The last fire they had was in July.  The Province has two EMS units in Sidney, but the fire department is the third call when the two ambulances are busy.

Sidney Fire Hall (photo by Marcel Sloover)

The Times Colonist reports:

Fire chief Jim Tweedhope raised concerns that medical calls involving seniors could go unanswered if only one of the four full-time firefighters is available.

Firefighters have to respond in pairs and the 37 volunteers are often unavailable during weekdays because they are working full time. Tweedhope also said in the event of an apartment fire, any delayed response due to a lack of available firefighters or volunteers could reduce the likelihood of rescuing people trapped in the building.

Tweedhope had proposed hiring four firefighters over four years at a cost of $322,164.  "[The cost per resident] worked out to about a dollar a month for each firefighter – which is a pretty easy pill to swallow," he said.

The Town Council denied his request and passed the budget without any provisions to hire the extra firefighters.  Mayor Larry Cross said before any new firefighter positions are created, the council wants to be sure the department has explored all options, including "creative approaches to volunteer recruitment."  He said the department could do more to attract women and could better acknowledge the contributions volunteers make.

They did appropriate $10,000 for an "improved volunteer recruitment campaign."

Thanks to Mark D.

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Posted by on March 9, 2012 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor • Tagged:

Carbon Motors … no federal loan crumbles purpose-built police vehicle effort

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Press release from yesterday

Carbon Motors ATVM Loan Caught in DOE Political Crossfire

CONNERSVILLE, IN — Today Carbon Motors Corporation, a homeland security technology company, announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has indicated that it will not proceed with Carbon’s $310 million application for a direct loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program. The ATVM program was established during the Bush administration and continued under the Obama administration.

“We are outraged by the actions of the DOE and it is clear that this was a political decision in a highly-charged, election year environment. Since Solyndra became politicized last fall, the DOE has failed to make any other loans under the ATVM program, has pulled back one loan that it previously committed and, as of this month, the DOE has pushed aside the three remaining viable loans under active consideration,” said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Carbon Motors Corporation.

“Each of these applicants has been caught for several years in a costly and extensive DOE due diligence process. Carbon Motors simply appears to be the last victim of this political gamesmanship. In failing to deploy the tax dollars that Congress allocated for the creation of advanced technology manufacturing jobs in the U.S., the DOE ATVM program represents a glaring failure of the Obama Administration to create jobs that are clearly within its power to create,”

full press release HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been following Carbon Motors purpose-built police vehicle efforts as part of a larger obsession with law enforcement wheels:

October 05, 2008: Police Cruiser Designed by Cops

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One result of Carbon Motors effort is far more work-specific vehicles from others:

CHEVROLET

October 05, 2009: New Caprice Police Car

Holden (Australian) import for General Motors.

June 03, 2011: LAPD 2011 Chevy Caprice PPV

Almost got a detective-package Caprice!

June 25, 2011: Contract loophole = Street Caprices

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORD

March 13, 2010: Ford 2012 “purpose-built” police cruiser

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month, Chicago announced that were buying 500 Ford Police Interceptors and utility vehicles.  Ford press release HERE.

DODGE

When Wake County EMS selected the police package, Hemi-powered Dodge Charger from the North Carolina state contract, the important information of the Advanced Practice Paramedics was overshadowed by the vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2012 version of the Dodge Charger Pursuit is getting praise for better sight-lines

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on March 8, 2012 • Filed under: Funding & Staffing, News, Technology & Communications, Urban Commander, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Saving Money Instead of Lives

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Mayor Has His Priorities

HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, HAS BEEN going through a period of slashing firefighter positions in the name of economy while keeping city hall populated and the most recent cut has been to reduce the city's rescue squad unit to driver-only.  This nonsense has put Mayor James Fiorentini in the spotlight following a fatal fire in a residence.

Eagle-Tribune / Daly

The fire began around 1 am Wednesday morning on the first floor of a triple-decker and spread rapidly through the entire building.  When the first units arrived on the scene they were met with the building fully involved and, according to the police chief who is now in charge of the FD, untenable.  However, the firefighters who were there are claiming that a rescue crew, if there was one, could have begun a search in the first floor where the victim was finally located.

An elderly woman in the unit where the fire began perished in the blaze and two other people suffered some non-life threatening burn and smoke injuries.  Residents in the upper floors were able to escape without injury.

The fire went to two alarms and was contained to the fire building in the densely-built neighborhood.  But the fact that a life was lost is bringing out a public debate on the Mayor's relentless cutting back on resources for fire suppression and life saving.  It was just ten days ago that he arbitrarily reduced the rescue squad staffing from 3 to 1.

Later in the day at a hastily-assembled press conference in front of the burned-out dwelling, the Haverhill union president along with the president of the Massachusetts state union organization lambasted the mayor for this result.  The Eagle-Tribune reports today:

The death of an elderly woman in an early morning inferno yesterday torched a political maelstrom, with firefighters saying she may have survived had Mayor James Fiorentini not cut two men from their rescue truck. "No amount of manning would have changed this tragedy," said Public Safety Commissioner Alan DeNaro.

But the tragedy at 477 Washington St. later led to a rare agreement between Fiorentini and the firefighters' union. Firefighters said the agreement has secured the safety of city residents for at least one night.

Two firefighters volunteered to staff the rescue truck last night without pay, and Fiorentini said he planned to talk with union President Greg Roberts today to try to devise a plan to restore the rescue truck to full staffing as soon as possible.

The agreement followed a long day of high drama and accusations that began in the early-morning hours when Firefighter Todd Guertin, a leader in the firefighters union, said Fiorentini "should be charged with murder for taking the rescue truck out of service over a dispute with the union."

"Ten days ago there would have been a rescue crew going in and searching that building for that woman," said Edward Kelly, a Boston firefighter and president of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, who was brought in by the local union to help set up the press conference. "Because of the reductions in manpower the mayor instituted, there was no rescue team to go in and search for her. We feel very strongly that woman would have survived if the cuts to the rescue truck had not been made."

The Eagle-Tribune has posted the first several minutes of radio traffic from the call:

 

Firegeezer comments:  There is a lot of emotion involved in this controversy and it has enveloped this tragic death to serve each side's position.  Unsaid is just why the Mayor is being allowed to send out a rescue squad with only a driver in the first place.  Instead of assigning the sole remaining firefighter to an engine where there would be enough people to launch a rescue attempt, he is parading a truck in order to fool the taxpayers into thinking that they have a real rescue squad showing up at fires.

Following is a clip from yesterday's news conference:

 

Read the Eagle-Tribune story HERE.
The Boston Globe has MORE.

Eagle-Tribune / Bilodeau

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Posted by on March 8, 2012 • Filed under: commentary, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor, rescue, Videos

Is The Kansas City Council Readying For a Fire Department Upheaval?

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Appear Ready to Slash Firefighters From Payroll

THE KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, CITY COUNCIL meets today and one of the most-anticipated items on the agenda will be the testimony of the KC Fire Chief "Smokey" Dyer who has been charged with reducing the FD budget by $7.6 million.

Chief Dyer (KC Star photo)

The city has a new mayor who just took office and an aggressive city manager who, like all of them, is bottom-line focused.  With the same problems of declining revenues that all cities are experiencing, the city manager has proposed slashing 105 firefighters from the rolls, primarily by lopping off one FF per shift from each engine company.  Chief Dyer is adamantly opposed to this, claiming that it would seriously affect the safety of the public and the efficiency of the fire department, so the Council has invited him to address them today.

In an editorial today, the Kansas City Star writes:

The mayor challenged Dyer to develop his own ways to save the money. That could include closing fire stations plus salary- or overtime-related givebacks by the fire union.

The mayor pointedly noted that the Fire Department had gained 480 people since 2000, even as the city slashed more than 660 non-public safety employees. With stagnant revenues, he said, city officials "must do all that we can to enhance efficiencies in our public safety sector."

KSHB-TV is reporting this morning on the upcoming dueling budgets:

 

The City Council is also seemingly sending the fire chief a message to "roll over" like a good puppy and do as he's told.  They will be voting today on a proposal to enhance the fire chief's retirement benefits.  Again from the Kansas City Star:

A proposal Wednesday to provide for retirement options for a fire chief after 10 years of service was endorsed Wednesday by the Council’s Finance and Governance Committee. Currently, the city’s retirement options are only available to a member of the firefighter’s pension system after 25 years of service.

Council members say the move will give Kansas City a competitive edge in luring professional chiefs to run the department. They say the 25-year rule could be difficult to recruit other high-caliber fire chiefs who haven’t risen through the ranks. But the measure would also apply to Dyer, who has been Kansas City’s fire chief for just over 11 years.

The fireworks begin in a few hours.

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Thursday Only at Amazon:

Philips Norelco Cordless Razors
25 % Off

CLICK HERE to view the selection and order yours.

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Posted by on March 1, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, Videos • Tagged: ,

Fire District Can’t Control Spending – Wants to Contract For Coverage

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Fire Protection Suffers While Board Members Spend on Themselves

THE SAN MIGUEL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT in San Diego County, California, is over budget for the fourth year in a row and wants to bail out by "outsourcing" their fire protection coverage.  The taxpayers are understandably outraged at the Board's attempt following several years of spending money without considering the consequences.

This current fiscal year they have a $1.3 million budget deficit and can't seem to find any more ways to cut spending.

The FPD has but 8 fire stations and undermans all of them with 3 FF's per engine.  They operate one ladder truck.  Recently the district took one engine out of service and replaced it with a 2-man "rescue" unit.  The FPD does not provide ambulance service.  Despite that, they are still spending more than their $19.6 million budget.

Headquarters Station  (from website)

The Board of Directors is composed of seven members elected by the citizens to 4-year terms.  Even though it is only a part-time job, the directors pay themselves $165 for each of their 18 meetings plus full health-care coverage to the tune of $90,000 per year (and another $14,203 for one retired director).

There is some discrepancy in what the fire chief's salary is.  The State Controller's Office says that he is paid $214,442 and the chief says that he is "only" paid $174, 000 to manage 8 stations and 86 full-time employees.

You can read this year's operating budget (.pdf) HERE.

Now they are considering contracting out to another FD to run their calls, preferabley CalFire, yet continue to collect "administrative" fees that will continue their gravy train.

KGTV ran this video report recently about this solution:

 

East County Magazine has more on this story HERE.

San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District WEBSITE.

Hat tip:  Mark Donovan

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Posted by on February 24, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing • Tagged:

Eagles “State of the Science” 2012 Agenda

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Topics that will be covered in 10 minute data bursts

The 2012 Agenda for the EMS State of the Science was posted.

Here are the topics the U.S. Metropolitan Municipalities EMS Medical Directors Consortium will be covering Friday and Saturday:

  • Myocardial Infarction
  • The Outcome of Recent Outcome Studies
  • New Devices, New Protocols and New Concerns: Navigating in the "New" Times of Budgetary Constraint
  • Mini-Symposium about Call Center Issues in EMS
  • Mini-Symposium about EMS and Trauma Care
  • Alternatives to EMS patient disposition: Handling 9-1-1 System "Loyalty Program Members"
  • Evolving Considerations in Prehospital Emergency Care Practice
  • The Therapeutic Edge: Challenges in Pregnancy and Asthma
  • Issues in Destination Hospitals and Process Analysis
  • Approaches to Termination of Resuscitation
  • Safety and Risk Management Concerns in PreHospital Care
  • Evolving Considerations in EMS Data Evaluation

More than 50 nuggets presented in ten minute blasts. Hundreds more contacts, conversations, and socializing. Plus, lightning rounds with the Eagles.

It is to EMS what FDIC is to fire.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

related posts:

Posted by on February 23, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, ambulances, EMS Topics, Funding & Staffing, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Patient Management, Special Operations, Technology & Communications, Urban Commander • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – February 23

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Thursday Morning – Good and Bad Leadership

Yesterday we posted an article HERE showing a variety of political missteps affecting local fire departments and how the town leaders handled them.  One of them was the Manchester, New Hampshire, Board of Aldermen who started feeling the heat (pun intended) and having second thoughts about those firefighter layoffs they mandated last year after a 4-alarm apartment building fire last week.

That kind of jolted them back to the edge of reality (but not quite all the way) and they voted to rehire some (but not all) of the laid-off firefighters.  Moments later, the mayor exercised his privilege and vetoed the bill.  We have no idea where he thinks his responsibility lies, but it sure isn't public safety.  Then one of the aldemen switched his vote and a second balloting produced an override of the veto and they will have a few more firefighters back to work soon.

That's a bit better than the Northampton firefighters got when their city leaders flat-out broke the law and violated the FF's labor contract by refusing to grant the less-senior firefighters their rightful annual performance pay increments.  So the Local has had to file a lawsuit against the city which will no doubt end up costing the taxpayers a lot more than it would have if they had just followed the law.

Contrast that with the Bossier City (pronounced BOH-zher), Louisiana, city council who recently discovered that their former fire chief had mis-configured a pay raise in 2008 and since then the FF's have been short-changed in their paychecks to the tune of more than $600,000.  Are there accusations flying around?  No.  Is the city council digging in its heels and trying to avoid paying back the shortfall?  No.  The mayor and the council are taking immediate steps to correct the situation and find the money to make it right.  Take the moment to watch that news video to see and hear what the policians are saying about the problem.  It's very refreshing.

On the other hand though, let's go back up to New England and take a peek at the nonsense coming from the New London, Connecticut, City Council.  Their 3-station fire department has three front-line trucks out of service in need of repairs, two engines and one of their two ladder trucks.  Total cost to get them running:  about $75,000.  And the city has the money to pay for it now.

But…behaving like so many protective bureaucrats and power-hungry politicians, they are arguing over which agency's budget to take the funds from to pay for it.  One group wants to use funds from the public works maintenance account and the other group wants to take it from the rainy day fund.  And they are holding up this critical repair while they squabble about this, like school children.  It makes you wonder… Why don't you just fix the damn trucks and sort out the accounting procedure later?  Sheesh.  This is what the citizens voted for?  Read the article in the New London Patch HERE to get the details.

Well, we'd better act like adults and get our own equipment checked out.  I'm going to get the coffee started, then we'll meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 23, 2012 • Filed under: apparatus, Funding & Staffing, morning lineup

Updated: On Second Thought …..

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"Maybe We Shouldn't Have…."

UPDATE:  Additional entry posted.  Scroll down.

THE MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, BOARD OF ALDERMEN suffered a pang of responsibility Tuesday night and voted to re-hire some of the nine firefighters that they laid off last year in an effort to keep the non-essential services active.  This past Thursday the result of their past action came to the public view when a four-alarm fire created more damage than they had saved and scared the alderman for that district into making a motion to bring some firefighters back to work by lifting a hiring freeze and authorizing the fire chief to use unspent overtime funds to refill four positions.

This apartment fire jolted the local Alderman  (WMUR-TV image)

After the Board passed the measure 10 – 4, the mayor immediately vetoed the bill.  A quick re-vote overturned the veto  11 – 3 and the measure stands.

WMUR-TV has the story  HERE. and this video report:

 

Manchester Fire Department WEBSITE.

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IN NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS, THE FIREFIGHTERS Local 108 has filed a lawsuit against the city, the mayor, and the fire chief for violating their valid labor contract.  WWLP-TV reports:

According to (Local president Michael) Hatch, in July of 2011, then-Mayor Mary Clare Higgins had frozen the wages of firefighters in the local. Under their contract, firefighters were supposed to have their salaries increased in a series of "steps" based upon their years of service, with eighth-year firefighters receiving the highest pay level. Hatch says that the city’s action to freeze this system had violated state bargaining and wage laws.

"The city has a legal obligation to pay incremental raises as a firefighter gains more seniority and experience," Hatch said. "The city has disregarded this obligation."

Hatch told 22News that the city had promised to negotiate with the firefighters, but nothing has happened so far.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in Hampshire Superior Court, the union local is seeking withheld wages, legal fees, three times the amount of damage withheld, plus interest (something that is required under state law if a government is found to be violating labor laws.) Hatch said that they also want assurance that this will not happen again.

The Hampshire Gazette has the details of the conflict HERE.

WSHM-TV interviews Local president Hatch who explains what's going on in this video report:

 

 

Northampton Fire Department WEBSITE.
Local 108 WEBSITE.

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THE BOSSIER CITY, LOUISIANA, HAS FOUND OUT that they may owe most of their firefighters some back pay in the amount of $615,450.  Recently the mayor had his staff investigate allegations that a 2008 pay raise was administered incorrectly resulting in the firefighters being short-changed.

It hasn't been disclosed how the mayor and city council were tipped off, but the situation arose first when the former fire chief instructed that the payroll be configured improperly.  It's a complicated situation, but KMSS-TV Shreveport does a good job of sorting it out HERE.

Firegeezer comments that it is commendable that both the city council and the mayor immediately took remedial actions to correct this once they found out about it.  After watching this video report from KTBS-TV you will no doubt agree with me:

 

Hat tip:  Mark D. and Nate A.

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Posted by on February 22, 2012 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, labor, Videos • Tagged: , ,