FD828

You can say want you want about the legalities,the AHJ's, the training requirements, who doesn't like who, who can't use what fire station, what plan is better, but the bottom line is still about who wants to be in charge. If they WANTED to make it work, they would. Obviously they have no intention of doing this so they won't.

Not to mention every single contract has been agreed upon by both the union and the ELECTED officials of the municipalities!! Elected by whom??? The tax payers that live there perhaps? So every single item that a union has was fairly negotiated by both sides and voted upon by both sides. You act like the unions are not willing to bend in these hard times. This is the farthest from what is happening.

And hiring 50+ FF's to work for the volunteer department is a better more cost efficient solution? Why does it matter so much to the volunteers where the paid personnel come from? Control plain and simple. End of discussion. They VFD's could choose to work with SFRD, let them use their stations and possible some of their equipment, but they don't want to give up control. Hell it would still be cheaper if they formed 2 new engine companies then hire the 50+ new ff's.(Already have Engines 6,7,8,9 only need 2 for Long Ridge district) This is about control and nothing more.

WOW! Nice posting everyone. I was going to reply back but you all hit the nail on the head. So thank you for that. And just for added clarity on my end... I have been on the job since 2004 and I pay for medical, I contribute 6% into my pension (which is on my base pay when I retire), I work hard for the money I earn including taking extra classes like the SCUBA dive class, rope rescue, and elevator rescue classes with no compensation for them, I do get college reimbursement if #1 i pass the class and #2 it has to be in a related field. Oh and far as I know, every job requires that you have to pass a promotional test and go through a interview of some kind before you can be promoted. People spend years studying and buying books trying to get promoted and some never do. So please as everyone has asked, post your "facts" about how unions work because from I am sitting you are wrong, plain and simple.

Dude, wake up. They are taking away rights that these unions fought for. It is anti-American what those states have done. It is not the unions that have put the municipalities in the spot they are in. The republicans are pitting the working class against each other. (It's not fair that the unions have this and the rest of the workers don't. Vote republican and we will get rid of the big bad unions) Do you really think that the non-union citizens will see any difference in their taxes? You are kidding yourself if you think the residents will get a tax break if they strip the unions of their collective bargaining rights. The unions are not to blame. Nor are they unwilling to make concessions. But don't sit there and say that we have to cut this and that and watch those cutting get raises and if you think it hasn't happened you are insane. They are destroying what so many have worked for. It is not right. Your comment of making sure unions are kept in line... what exactly do you mean? The unions have to negotiate every single thing in their contracts with... yup the municipality! So don't sit there and say it is the unions fault, the contracts have to be agreed to by both sides. The unions have not strong armed anyone. They have fairly negotiated their contracts. So you are saying well done to Oklahoma because you think this will be what is best for the union members themselves but not the union itself? So basically the cities can now say you will get this for pay and this for vacation and this for medical and if you don't like it you can go work elsewhere. So how is this better for the union member???

He was too much of a COWARD to include that he is a "chief" of one of the volunteer departments supposedly ready to work side by side with the career staff. There are volunteers who act as professional firefighters, he however is a disgrace to the fire service as a whole. His own department should have him removed from his position of "power" for these antagonistic actions. A horse's a**.

In my humble opinion, this right here is why EMS will always be a job not a career like the FD/PD.

or move a town that requires you pay a subscription fee for fire service, just don't pay it and they will let your house burn down!

The Republicans and the top % money makers in this country are pitting the working middle class against each other. ie: "Hey look at this public worker, he has a job, great pay, benefits and a retirement. You being a private sector worker don't have any of that, and it is not right. We need to get rid of these big bad unions! They are the cause of this whole financial mess! Vote republican!" I know everyone has to vote their conscious and there is a lot more issues to consider then the union/working issues, but this is America and from where I am sitting, the Republicans are destroying a big part of it. Public safety careers will never be the same again when they are done. They are taking everything away that made these jobs what they were. I at one time hoped that my children would follow in my footsteps and join the fire service, now I hope they aspire for something else.

How about nurses having to do some ride time with the EMS units that serve the ER? Call audits would be a good start, but I would love to have them come ride a shift or two as well.

It's official..... Bobby V

I love it. Now when the guy is on TV doing his other full time job, he will have the head of legal affairs take over as the public safety director. Brilliant! How can they tell the residents of Stamford that their safety is priority #1 with a straight face?!

Not to mention that it looks like fairly new construction..... what are the odds that it isn't truss construction? With that much fire showing with a strong wind, defensive seems like a good call.

About the same time the union's contract is up.... coincidence????

What really matters here is that they fix the areas that they were deficient in so that they don't have a repeat of this tradgedy, not the amount of the fines. Hope that they see the big picture.

Finally they are talking sense! Take off the rose colored glasses and see what is really happening!

And so it continues..... Advocate Article

Injuries can occur any time any way. I think the bigger picture would be if God forbid, a firefighter contracts a communicable disease or comes down with cancer. You know damn well the city that the firefighter works for will argue that the firefighter contacted this illness due to volunteer activities. Now the member will have to fight tooth and nail to get the coverage that he/she deserves.

Is Bobby officially the public safety director? Thought he had to be approved by the BOR or something first? If not, why does he already have a city vehicle???

So who's fault is that? There isn't any paid personnel in TOR's fire station yet they don't have what I would call adequate participation in the public safety of their residents. I don't think you can even count Springdale as a department. And this decrease in participation is only because of SFRD guys are in their house? Really? Are we in 3rd grade or are we professionals? Professionals responsible for saving lives and property. If the volunteers don't want to come out because they don't "like" who the career staff is and if they are willing to let public safety and doing the "right" thing take a back seat to hurt feelings, then they should hang up the gear and find a new hobby. Glenbrook included. I just have to know, giving the proven fact that other then BFD, the calls are going unanswered multiple times a day in the volunteer departments, what makes you believe that if the mayor enacts this plan that there will be a change and the volunteers are going to show up? Or do you believe that Belltown will just answer every call for every district?

It isn't MD or VA either

But if you go by your logic, if the career staff switches machines based on the type of call, you are still leaving that area void of that machine if there is another call. IE: If there is a water leak call and the career guys take the truck, there is no truck covering that area and the next closest one would have to respond. So it is the same thing. If the career guys staff 1 machine no matter what it is, when they go out (and they will) that area will then have to rely on the next closest unit (or the volunteers) for the next call. So no matter what or how you try to sell "cross staffing" the results will be the same. That's why if it is 1 department, it would work like every other big city or town with multiple stations. If 1 station is out on a run, the next closest one gets the call. Do you think FDNY, Boston, Chicago etc... would cross train guys to take either the truck or the engine depending on the call? Why do you think they don't? But all this aside, the quint idea is not my favorite at all. But I thought it would be a good place to start or compromise if you will, with the the volunteers and their insistence to have the career staff flip back and forth between rigs.

No no, I get what Geppetto is saying. What I don't get is why Cogs feels the entire fleet (paid and volunteer) would have to be changed over to quints if that is the direction the city went. If they wanted to go with multi-purpose equipment, I agree that through attrition is could be more feasible.

Why would the volunteer fleet have to be converted to all quints? Why can't just the paid staff have quints and the volunteers keep the equipment they have? If you are so concerned about the right rig rolling out the door, doesn't this solve that issue with the exception of a tanker and heavy rescue of course? Couldn't the able volunteers then respond on either the engine, truck or tanker? Whatever they are responding on, the career quint will assume the other roll. Kinda like engine 5 right? It is an engine except when responding up north then it becomes a truck company.

Thanks Capt! I greatly appreciate your input.