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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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