alertjoe

Wow, I'm totally disgusted by this very sad news. In my 48 years with the Department I have always been proud of our reputation as one of the best Fire Departments in Westchester County. That reputation was earned by the dedicated service and hard work performed by the Career and Volunteer staffs working together. Sure we had our differences at times (some not so pleasant) but we worked them out for the betterment of the service. The Village of Port Chester has been very fortunate to have a Fire Department that has saved many lives and millions of dollars in fire losses over the years. The quick response of the Career Staff with Engines 58 & 59 and the superb firefighting tactics of it's dedicated Volunteers have prevented many small fires from becoming major conflagrations. Anyone in the Fire Service knows how fast uncontrolled fires multiply by the minute and therefore the importance of the quick initial response. In most cases that is what the Career staff provided. To the Mayor and Members of the Village Board, as a former Chief of this Department I'm appalled by this decision. You should be ashamed of yourselves for taking this horrendous action and placing the lives and property of the citizens in jeopardy. I hope your actions don't cause any hardship or sorrow to anyone involved. To the Career staff I wish you Godspeed in finding new suitable employment in your chosen profession. To the Volunteers watch your backs, you never know who's next on the hit list.. In closing I feel a list of how the Village Board Voted should be posted so the residents know who is responsible for this unfortunate decision.....

Congratulations Hap (602) Thanks for your service. May you have a long and healthy retirement.

So whats new? This has been going on for years. Mount Vernon has had manpower problems since they did away with the Volunteers. Now I'm not trying or going to make this a Career vs Volunteer issue, but obviously Mount Vernon will never hire enough Firefighters to do the job properly. It is total abuse to constantly call for Mutual Aid, for fires that should be handled by their own Department. It's not the Departments fault but rather the City Government for trying to cut corners regarding staff. Maybe they should take a good hard look at Volunteers or Call Firefighters as the present system is flawed and in need of repair. Pehaps a contract with a neighboring municipality for additional assistance would help. Something need's to be done before some one is critically injured, be they Civillian or Firefighter....