A New Legal Advisor Would Help, Too
THE JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, FIRE DEPARTMENT has got itself in a pickle after 26 recruits in a class of 28 flunked the State Certification Exam. It was learned that the final exam was administered in November, but after the massive fail rate the fire department has been trying to get the Minimum Standards Board to permit the city to re-test the recruits themselves. The recruit schools run for 12 weeks in Jackson's own academy which has recently started another school of 12 recruits.
WLBT image
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports:
Jackson Fire Chief Raymond McNulty would respond to questions from The Clarion-Ledger only in an email through city spokesman Chris Mims. Some of McNulty's responses were not clear or did not appear to directly answer the questions.
The Minimum Standards Board established a committee to inquire into the situation regarding Jackson recruits when the board discussed the matter in November.
The situation with the recruits apparently arises from a discrepancy between what JFD taught and what actually is on the minimum standards test, though the Minimum Standard Board approved Jackson's curriculum.
WLBT-TV posted this video report on the situation:
In the meantime, the 26 FF's that failed have been getting paid while they await the settlement of the problem. The fire chief says that state law requires them to be certified before they can be allowed to perform as firefighters, so they remain in limbo.
Not true, says Joel Jones, attorney for the Mississippi Fire Personnel Minimum Standards and Certification Board.
"Jackson apparently has an internal policy that they don't actually use guys as firemen until they've passed the course. That's a Jackson policy," Jones said. "State law says after they hire someone they have to be certified in a year. There's no restriction in the state law as to how they use that person, they just can't pay them after a year unless they're certified."
The Clarion-Ledger says that this isn't the first time that Jackson has had learning problems:
An internal affairs report dated Sept. 20, 2005, obtained by The Clarion-Ledger, states that "approximately 80 percent of 2005 recruit class felt that the class was poorly organized and did not receive the quality of training expected."
The report further states: "The class stated that they were given a book for Jackson Fire Department Training Class and later it was determined that this was the wrong book. Instructor (Keith) Simpson told them that they will continue to train from the book. The recruit class felt that improper material affected their academic performance on the Minimum Standard Test."
The report concludes that "The overhaul of (the training) division may be the key to better this department in the future."
Apparently they didn't get a new key.
Read the full article in the Clarion-Ledger HERE.
Jackson Fire Department WEBSITE.
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Storm Prep For Probies
7 commentsSteve has some good tips for the youngsters scheduled to work during the hurricane:
My first night in the firehouse was June 21st, 1972, the same night that Hurricane Agnes hit the DC area. Assigned to ride bucket on Truck 11, it was a night that will stick in my mind forever. There are some lessons that maybe the current crop of Firefighters could benefit from, especially if you're scheduled to work this weekend:
#1. Report to work with extra changes of clothes and be prepared for at least 48 hours of hold over.
#2. Bring food!
Most all grocery stores closed early during Agnes as power was lost in the first round of storms and then didn't re-open the next day at all. The McDonald's down in the valley saved us by sending a grocery bag of burgers to 11 late in the evening on the 21st.
#3. If you have an extra set of turnout gear, make sure it's intact and at the station. You WILL need it. It's gonna rain. A LOT.
#4. Extra fuses for anything still running fuses as opposed to circuit breakers.
Tropical rain gets into everything. Remember the line from Forest Gump? Sometimes it even seemed to rain "up". Our windshield wipers failed early on from the heavy rain in the cab but the truck absolutely had to stay in service…so a volunteer was assigned to sit in the middle between driver and officer and spent the whole night pushing the inside wipers with his hands so that the outside wipers would work. (these new ffs have no clue that open cab firetrucks used to have inside and outside wipers!)
#5. Thank God open cab fire trucks are a thing of the past. Truck 5 was running as Truck 11 that night. It was the old American La France. I would have paid good money for a roof that night. Like they said in the movie "Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy"…bring a towel!
#6. Make sure your family is provided for before reporting for work. That means food, water, power and other emergency supplies. IF they are in a flood zone, MOVE THEM OUT EARLY.
#7 Units should be prepared to work on their own. We ran 26 calls the first 8 hours of Hurricane Agnes…that included 2 small working fires from lightning strikes. We were the ONLY truck company on the highway that night and ran many calls all by ourselves.
#8. Be aware that the huge firetruck you are on creates waves when it goes through deep water across roadways. Those waves will wash other vehicles clean off the road. T-11 did just that down near FT Belvoir during Agnes while responding to the bridge collapse in Woodbridge. We had to stop and do a swift water rescue.
#9. Water supply WILL fail early on. It did in Agnes and we had Air Force tankers running calls with us later in the night. Water supply failed again during later hurricanes too. Poor placement on the water treatment plant in Occoquan. The area floods easily.
#10 Got a camping sleeping cot? Throw it in the car and take it to work with you. Extra shifts and extra personnel will likely be spending time at your station….not enough beds to go around!
#11 Ropes. If they are hanging in the store room, get em out and put on the apparatus. Even brush units and medic units will need ropes and flotation devices during a storm like this.
#12 Bring cash! ATMS will be out of service as soon as the power goes. Bring cash in case you have to buy something and can find a store still open.
#13 Still have a pair of the old hip boots? Time to dig them out.
#14 Check out the chain saws and trash pumps NOW, not when it starts raining. Extra chains, extra fuel and oil for them and whatever tools needed to replace those chains in the field should be on board the apparatus.
#15 Wear glasses? Bring a soft cotton towel just for drying your glasses. Every time you get out of the truck, those lenses will get wet and probably fogged over. Nice to be able to clean them off afterwards so you can see. If you truly depend on glasses to work, bring your extra pair to work with you.
#16. Hand lights. EVERY SINGLE HAND LIGHT needs to be working and charged and on-board the apparatus. Even the brush units will need extra lights and equipment not normally associated with a brush truck. A charged hand light does no good sitting on the shelf in the workshop or storage closet.
#17. Shelter. Is your station likely to be needed to shelter evacuees? Plan NOW who's gonna stay to supervise them, how they are going to be fed and make sure that a hand light is left for them. You will be out of the station when the power fails, and the emergency generator fails to start and they will need a light until you get back.
Good Luck!
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