Mohegan Fire 2/8/10

[Guest]

What happened yesterday at the Mohegan fire on Young Street?

I heard E258(?) state they did not have enough personnel on scene to make an interior attack.

Is there a problem with manpower? Would it be safe to say that it's time to start automatic dual responses there?

Is this part of that OSHA issue a few months ago citing the District for reducing staffing?

Thanks.

[pvfdtowman 8]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break. christ even my department had a lil bit of a hard time getting the engine out but we provided sufficient manpower to mohegan. Given the time of day and that no one was home we all (meaning all the dept.'s that responded) , and where the fire started and how it traveled made one hell of a stop on that house and to all the members of this site that are members of the departments that responded to that fire you/we made one good stop guys good job!!

[Raz 14]

That's actually not what mutual aid plans are drawn up for, at all.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Raz

[DR104 141]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break. christ even my department had a lil bit of a hard time getting the engine out but we provided sufficient manpower to mohegan. Given the time of day and that no one was home we all (meaning all the dept.'s that responded) , and where the fire started and how it traveled made one hell of a stop on that house and to all the members of this site that are members of the departments that responded to that fire you/we made one good stop guys good job!!

I am not giving no breaks out if its my house thats on fire

[pvfdtowman 8]

I am not giving no breaks out if its my house thats on fire

if you knew the terms and the cause of the fire and the way it traveled it was still a damn good stop wait for the pictures to be posted on mohegan's website or the information to be made public about the cuase

[prucha25 76]

if you knew the terms and the cause of the fire and the way it traveled it was still a damn good stop wait for the pictures to be posted on mohegan's website or the information to be made public about the cuase

It may have been a good stop but that is most likely because of proper training of a few, and not sufficient manpower at the beginning of the fire ( when it matters). If my house was on fire I wouldn't want to wait 10 minutes for 3 departments to assemble meanwhile everything I owned burned. Just because it was the middle of the day isn't an excuse, you're either a well staffed department or you're not and if you claim to be that means you can fight a fire at anytime of day no matter what. While I love being a volunteer firefighter I don't want to watch my house burn to the ground, or be one of those first in firefighters knowing that I have no back up outside whatsoever.

Edited February 9, 2010 by prucha25

[firebuff860 54]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break. christ even my department had a lil bit of a hard time getting the engine out but we provided sufficient manpower to mohegan. Given the time of day and that no one was home we all (meaning all the dept.'s that responded) , and where the fire started and how it traveled made one hell of a stop on that house and to all the members of this site that are members of the departments that responded to that fire you/we made one good stop guys good job!!

I think homeowners expect enought firefighters to arrive quickly to start supression. The problem with relying on mutual aid is that it takes time for dept's to arrive on scene, thus making the fire more difficult to extinguish due to extension. And if you do not have enough firefighters to start suppression at your own fire, how exactly do you provide mutual aid? If Mohegan is having trouble with manpower they need to do 1 of 2 things, hire more men, or do a better job recruiting members especially during the daytime. If neither of those two are feasible maybe it is time to think of other options such as consolidation. I think I have read about consolidation on this site recently.

[DR104 141]

It may have been a good stop but that is most likely because of proper training of a few, and not sufficient manpower at the beginning of the fire ( when it matters). If my house was on fire I wouldn't want to wait 10 minutes for 3 departments to assemble meanwhile everything I owned burned. Just because it was the middle of the day isn't an excuse, you're either a well staffed department or you're not and if you claim to be that means you can fight a fire at anytime of day no matter what. While I love being a volunteer firefighter I don't want to watch my house burn to the ground, or be one of those first in firefighters knowing that I have no back up outside whatsoever.

THANK YOU!! WELL SAID!!!

pvfdtowman, on 09 February 2010 - 06:30 PM, said:

if you knew the terms and the cause of the fire and the way it traveled it was still a damn good stop wait for the pictures to be posted on mohegan's website or the information to be made public about the cuase

Didn't say anything about the fire,and i do not know the terms and cause of the fire. If they made a good stop then great job!!

[Changeling 0]

How many times is this that Mohegan Fire has needed mutual aid for manpower to handle their own work so far this year (excluding FAST). Id say about as many times as their ambulance corp has needed mutual aid in any given 12 hour period.

[jd783 64]

GOOD STOP?? The roof is burned off the house, Fire burns up it had nothing else to burn. With a adequet response on the initial alarm this fire may have been stopped. i know all depts lose buildings but 10min is a big head start

[x635 4,066]

Does Ladder 35 respond with Engine 258?

[prucha25 76]

Does Ladder 35 respond with Engine 258?

Yes, unless it is on another call already ( in which case ladder 10 will take its place).

[JFLYNN 681]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break. christ even my department had a lil bit of a hard time getting the engine out but we provided sufficient manpower to mohegan. Given the time of day and that no one was home we all (meaning all the dept.'s that responded) , and where the fire started and how it traveled made one hell of a stop on that house and to all the members of this site that are members of the departments that responded to that fire you/we made one good stop guys good job!!

You're telling us that we should expect the departments involved to maybe "have a lil bit of a hard time getting the engine out" and that we should "try to factor in how many of these people are working, or dedicated to some other issue in their lives" and that we should "give them a breaK"????

This was a private dwelling fire. right? So, if we should be understanding of an initial lack of manpower arriving in a timely manner at this fire, I guess we are going to need to be extremely understanding when there is a public assembly, multiple dwelling, or God forbid, a school fire in this area at 2:30 in the afternoon, and the people potentially trapped inside these aforementioned burning buildings and in need of rescue will need to be particularly understanding people as well I guess...

Why not just take an opportunity such as this to admit that there is a problem and try to fix it? Consolidation, regionalization, perhaps strategic use of career staffing...or, just cross your fingers and hope it all works out, and hope that everyone just "understands"...

[x635 4,066]

And all the volunteer manpower in Mohegan has to respond in their POV's from all over Mohegan (a very large district), with all the traffic in the area?

Does Mohegan use any technology to determine how many interior qualified firefighters are responding and their ETA?

[BFD2553 75]

This fire got a huge head start before anyone was ever aware of it- burning in the walls of an unoccupied home with rapid spread to the attic before any units arrived. Crews from Put. Valley, Yorktown, Peekskill and as I can personally attest, Buchanan, worked with Mohegan in an excellent and coordinated effort and kept the damage from being worse than it was eventually was. Should mutual aid departments be included on the initial dispatch? That is a question Mohegan should consider, at least during the daytime hours. We do it in the tri-village (Buchanan, Montrose and Verplanck)24/7/365 on all structure fire calls (even if it's an oven fire). The district with the fire is toned out immediately followed by the other two to man their stations. Works very well anytime of the day for all situations. Again- this fire was well involved before anyone even noticed and the crews did "make a good stop" considering what they faced. Not making excuses here Chief Flynn- just giving a little first-hand insight to what I experienced on scene.

Edited February 10, 2010 by BFD2553

[JFLYNN 681]

This fire got a huge head start before anyone was ever aware of it- burning in the walls of an unoccupied home with rapid spread to the attic before any units arrived. Crews from Put. Valley, Yorktown, Peekskill and as I can personally attest, Buchanan, worked with Mohegan in an excellent and coordinated effort and kept the damage from being worse than it was eventually was. Should mutual aid departments be included on the initial dispatch? That is a question Mohegan should consider, at least during the daytime hours. We do it in the tri-village (Buchanan, Montrose and Verplanck)24/7/365 on all structure fire calls (even if it's an oven fire). The district with the fire is toned out immediately followed by the other two to man their stations. Works very well anytime of the day for all situations. Again- this fire was well involved before anyone even noticed and the crews did "make a good stop" considering what they faced. Not making excuses here Chief Flynn- just giving a little first-hand insight to what I experienced on scene.

I didn't say it wasn't a good stop...that was one of the troublemakers on here ( I know who he is and I can confirm that he is always up to no good) ...I'm nice remember??

I have no idea what actually happened at the fire. What members are questioning on here is a seemingly repetitive and systemic problem of being unable to provide an adequate and timely response of qualified firefighting personnel.

If it takes numerous departments to deal with even a private dwelling fire every time, why don't those departments just combine?

[FD828 77]

I think homeowners expect enought firefighters to arrive quickly to start supression. The problem with relying on mutual aid is that it takes time for dept's to arrive on scene, thus making the fire more difficult to extinguish due to extension. And if you do not have enough firefighters to start suppression at your own fire, how exactly do you provide mutual aid? If Mohegan is having trouble with manpower they need to do 1 of 2 things, hire more men, or do a better job recruiting members especially during the daytime. If neither of those two are feasible maybe it is time to think of other options such as consolidation. I think I have read about consolidation on this site recently.

Most homeowners/ John Q Public have absolutely no idea about the fire service. Either they think that their house/family/property are adequately protected, or they are just hoping for the best if they have a clue.

[Bnechis 3,961]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break.

From the Westchester County Fire Mutual Aid Plan (section 6):

"Mutual Aid and/or automatic responses are not to be used to supplement an agency’s inadequate staffing or equipment inventory. The intent of Mutual Aid is to provide the needed additional manpower, equipment and specialized resources during those instances when a fire department has first expended all of its own resources. Mutual Aid should not become a chronic practice, nor should it become abusive or a burden to the providing agencies. Mutual Aid is intended to be a reciprocal practice.

Why should they be given a break? Is it because they are volunteers? Are you saying that they should be held to a lower standard, or no standards?

There are standards for how many volunteer fire fighters need to show up. Try to factor that in

[KCRD 6]

at 2:30 in the afternoon on a monday how many firefighter do you expect can show up??? try and factor in how many of these people are working , or dedicated to some other issue in their lives ??? THAT IS WHAT MUTUAL AID PLANS ARE DRAWN UP FOR give them a break.

Thank you!! You just single-handedly reinforced everything that the "consolidation" crowd is preaching. Also, one of the most naive comments made on this site.

[BFD2553 75]

I didn't say it wasn't a good stop...that was one of the troublemakers on here ( I know who he is and I can confirm that he is always up to no good) ...I'm nice remember??

I have no idea what actually happened at the fire. What members are questioning on here is a seemingly repetitive and systemic problem of being unable to provide an adequate and timely response of qualified firefighting personnel.

If it takes numerous departments to deal with even a private dwelling fire every time, why don't those departments just combine?

Our automatic tri-village dispatch is not in place out of "need" to deal with "even a private dwelling fire", but is instead a proactive policy to deal with "What If". The other two departments are dispatched to stand-by in quarters, and apparatus is called in as-needed. Our departments have designated first, second and third alarm assignments from within the area to deal with what MAY occur. It's a pre-plan, in place and it works. For example- My department does not operate a ladder truck therefore we rely on any of the surrounding departments which border us on any side to provide one if needed. The point is, instead of waiting to arrive on scene and then have one dispatched, the other two depts. are already in quarters ready to roll. We operate a dedicated cascade truck which we will respond anywhere called upon as we did at this fire, with qualified interior firefighters two of which in this case, were put to work. Volunteer numbers within many departments are lower than what they once were as many who grew up in their communities cannot afford to live in them anymore so they move out. Others work two jobs and cannot volunteer their time. Planning for this possible shortfall in available manpower with multiple area departments is a working alternative to consolidation.

Edited February 10, 2010 by BFD2553

[16fire5 693]

If you look at the IA it again appears the FAST was again put to work without another FAST on scene. I know I sound like a broken record on this but this will work fine until someone is injured or killed. The IC that is ignoring 2 in 2 out is opening up themselves and the district to tremendous liability. I know that Mohegan was cited in the past year by PESH but I'm not sure of the particulars. It is a shame that the safety of the firefighters (paid or volunteer) is being sacraficed because of daytime manpower problems in Mohegan.

[Guest]

Trying to justify no one showing up in time by saying there was no one to show up in time is very disturbing. I don't blame the guys who responded because they are the ones who actually went. And I'm sure its probably those same guys, through whose hard work and time spent make it seem like the department is in good shape. But it doesn't matter what day of the week, what time of day, what holiday during the year, if you can't get the adequately trained bodies there, you either need to work on getting that established or you are negligent as far as I am concerned. If you need more volunteers, get them. If you can't, hire firefighters. Either way, regardless of where it is, it may be my or your family and friends in that house/building/extrication, and NO ONE should tolerate excuses. You have to get the job done, and this whole excuse business is precisely why volunteers have the reputation we do. Either man up and admit to the problem and try to fix it, or get out of the way.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

For one the issue of "staffing" which I take "staffing" to mean members who are in a firehouse ready to respond versus "member" response meaning those who arrive to go to work, is a very touch issue for those of us who start to question such things even when the issues are that obvious. That's when labels start coming out labeling you a "troublemaker" or "anti-volunteer" start being drawn even when you use facts to back up your presentation of the issue and the fact that you are taking into account public service and personnel safety. I always look at it this way...there are 2 ways to take such things when they are brought up...either you take it way to personally which the fire service was here before you and will be here well after our time is up..and guess what...it will survive quite well. Or flat out...the truth hurts. So with that said...there are several combination departments in Westchester that are in obvious need of better and more consistent response levels then what their public is getting. However there are the same old factors that get in the way. But what do I know...more then likely some are already saying he's just a big bad paid guy who wants to take over everything. So let me state this again...I'm pro service and have no issue with where I work or whom I work with because I want better service...do you?

I was just wondering as typing this... what is Mohegan's current career staffing levels and when was the last time they hired?

[BFD1054 1,552]

For one the issue of "staffing" which I take "staffing" to mean members who are in a firehouse ready to respond versus "member" response meaning those who arrive to go to work, is a very touch issue for those of us who start to question such things even when the issues are that obvious. That's when labels start coming out labeling you a "troublemaker" or "anti-volunteer" start being drawn even when you use facts to back up your presentation of the issue and the fact that you are taking into account public service and personnel safety. I always look at it this way...there are 2 ways to take such things when they are brought up...either you take it way to personally which the fire service was here before you and will be here well after our time is up..and guess what...it will survive quite well. Or flat out...the truth hurts. So with that said...there are several combination departments in Westchester that are in obvious need of better and more consistent response levels then what their public is getting. However there are the same old factors that get in the way. But what do I know...more then likely some are already saying he's just a big bad paid guy who wants to take over everything. So let me state this again...I'm pro service and have no issue with where I work or whom I work with because I want better service...do you?

I was just wondering as typing this... what is Mohegan's current career staffing levels and when was the last time they hired?

Tommy, i still think youre a big bad guy . But seriously, nobody should "shoot the messanger" here. You bring up good, valid points as do most members who have already replied to this topic. As you said, the truth hurts sometimes...its the fire service, man up and get over it.

Ive said it before, ill say it again; im neither pro-volly/pro-career or anti-volly/anti-career. Tommy, i like the term "pro-service." We are all here to provide a service to the communities we serve. If for whatever reason, we can no longer provide such service adequately, then we need to do something about it.

Ive been in the volunteer fire and ems system for 11 years or so now. Ive seen alot of changes, some good, some bad. Training standards for vollies have increased, but are still nowhere near where they should be in my opinion. But its becomming more and more clear that volunteer agencies (fire & ems) everywhere are struggling big time. This is not fair, nor safe, for our communities or our members. The old days of "we do the best we can" and "we're only volunteers" need to be just that, the old days. This mentality needs to stop because people are going to lose their property and god forbid, their lives if this continues.

As for the volunteer system, we've talked about consolidation. Consolidation would be a step in the right direction, but still may not be the end all solution. I know guys are sick of me using the Tri-Village as an example, but its what i know. 7 pumpers, 2 Tower Ladders, 2 rescues, various utilities, "command cars," 9 chiefs, 3 captains and 8 or 9 lts. All this out of 3 stations protecting a combined area of approximately 20 square miles and averaging a combined 400-450 calls a year (thats not fact, just a round about number). We'd be much better off with maybe 3 pumpers, 1 ladder and one rescue and could do this out of 1 station. We could also eliminate many of the officer positions, all the while having a greater pool of officer candidates. As a combined dept, we'd have greater member turn-out to calls and in essence would most likely reduce response times. Eh, but what do i know, im just a young vollie from Buck-Town lol.

What i like about this thread/topic is that it has changed a bit. Some may recall the same issue/topic brought up regarding a fire in this same district a week or so ago. That topic got alot of attention and got some feathers ruffled. But what i like is that now there are vollies that are starting to see the issues and are contributing to this thread without getting uptight. Hey Chief Flynn, i think this is what you strive for, for people to wake up and see the issues facing the fire service. So bravo for getting many of the members here to wake up.

As for Mohegan, i will start by saying they are a good department, career & volunteer. Ive had the pleasure of working with them at calls as well as train alongside their career & volunteer members. However, as i said in the last Mohegan thread, they could use more career staffing hands down. They are just too big and busy of a district to rely on volunteers and limited career staffing.

Lets face it (i think the career guys will agree with me here), having 1 career member show up on an apparatus is just "smoke and mirrors." It is an unsafe and unfair practice for these career firemen to be riding solo to jobs. The public just sees it as "well, i called 911 and a fire truck showed up within a few minutes." They dont see that its just one guy hoping that others will show up. This goes for other combination depts as well. It is not the fault of the career members, because they do the job they were hired and trained to do day in and day out. But something needs to be done before someone is hurt.

alsfirefighter...dont quote me, but others have asked the same staffing question regarding Mohegan. I believe when they are "full-staffed" there are 3 career ff's at HQ (1 for the engine, 1 for the ladder & 1 for the rescue) and 1 FF at the remaining 3 stations. Thats a total of 6 career FFs on shift mannning 4 stations. I dont know about you, but those numbers dont add up to me.

Someone brought up better use of current career staffing. Ive tried in my head to see how this can be accomplished for a dept such as Mohegan. The only answer is to hire more firemen. Say there are 6 FF's per shift. Would you put 3 on an engine, 3 on a ladder? No, because they would still be understaffed and that would leave the other stations/apparatus unmanned.

On a side note: Westchester is one of the, if not the highest taxed County in this great nation. How is it that soo many States have County run fire and ems depts? LA County (CA), Clark County (NV), Miami-Dade (FL), Anne-Arrundel (MD), Baltimore County (MD) just to name a few. These are all County wide, County run depts that work! Most are 100% career, with the exception of some in Maryland and a few others. Why is it that Westchester couldnt accomplish this? Just something to think about.

[bigyellowtaxi 6]

First I am glad that I am not the only one who has noticed Mohegans downfall in the recent years. I am still concern with the quality of fire service here.

Well as a resident of Lake Mohegan I decided to call the firehouse. It was not easy but I got through after 2 attempts. The first time I called was a Saturday I got a recording, A RECORDING? WT*! Its a Saturday and there is no one at the fire house?

Turns out that they were all at another firehouse training. OK

The second call was more productive, I spoke to a Paid Firefighter. He told me that this has been getting worse for some years. The Board of Commissioners have turned the focus of the dept towards medical response. The paid staff has been cut by 30% hoping that maybe the volunteers would pick up the ball. (didn't happen) One Lieutenant and six firefighters have not been replaced, 4 firefighters retired and 2 firefighters retired due to injuries from the job. I asked if they were injured due to lack of man power, after a long pause He had no comment. They have not hired any new firefighters in 7 years. I wonder how old the force that they have is

I decided to call up some old friends who I know are volunteers in Mohegan the other in Yorktown. It seems Monday’s fire that their paid Capt that usually does not respond to fires, did so. They could not fight the fire from the inside because they did not have enough firefighters to do so. Westchester dispatch, which has taken over the radio dispatch in recent years, did not get the message to respond all on duty firefighters from the outer stations. This would have put 5 fire fighters and a Capt at the scene. Five years ago this would have been 6 or 7 paid firefighters but the volunteers feel intimidated with that many paid firefighters on scene. Some of the volunteers that showed up were not “inside firefighters”(which means that they are not allow to enter a building fire. WHAT!!!!!) Some of the Outside firefighters refused setup the hydrant and opted to take pictures instead. This action caused one of the paid firefighters to go take care of the hydrant and took him away from inside firefighting. BRILLIANT! This left one Capt and two Firefighters to fight the fire. There is a difference of opinion but it seems all safety teams ( FAST) were used to fight the fire.

The chief claims that the fire got a good headway (news12). I bet it did while you were waiting there for more people to show up! Apparently the paid firefighters have complained about unsafe working conditions and the volunteers don’t like that OSHA said that they must follow a 2in2out policy. This was being violated until recently. I don’t want my house to burn down, but I don’t want any one killed for my house even more.

The morale in Mohegan is low and the commissioners are turning a blind eye. The volunteers FF do not like that they are being restricted by the laws that keep them safe. The paid FF (that are union) feel like they don’t get the respect from volunteers that are themselves are in other unions (paid firefighters including NYC, Police, paid EMS, Town workers,) These volunteers are union members so they can have better pay and working conditions for them and their families but don’t like when the paid force in Mohegan asks for the same for themselves and their families.

Even if the Commissioners hired 6 paid firefighters tomorrow they would still have to be trained and this would take time. I can hardly believe that such a great dept as Mohegan has been reduced to not being able to fight their own fires, because of should short sighted Commissioners.

I am getting a lesson in fire dept politics and the games people play with others lives.

[bigyellowtaxi 6]

Just stumbled on this http://yorktown.lohudblogs.com/

Apparently shows Eric Di Bartolo Yorktown Highway Supt. in charge at Mohegans fire.

[flyboy14295 4]

Just stumbled on this http://yorktown.lohudblogs.com/

Apparently shows Eric Di Bartolo Yorktown Highway Supt. in charge at Mohegans fire.

He is the Battalion Chief for the area. (Batt. 17)

And a very well thought out post.

Edited February 10, 2010 by flyboy14295

[bigyellowtaxi 6]

Maybe he is not needed in Yorktown. We can save money on his salary and hire some firefighters!

Edited February 10, 2010 by bigyellowtaxi

[gamewell45 258]

First I am glad that I am not the only one who has noticed Mohegans downfall in the recent years. I am still concern with the quality of fire service here.

The morale in Mohegan is low and the commissioners are turning a blind eye. The volunteers FF do not like that they are being restricted by the laws that keep them safe. The paid FF (that are union) feel like they don't get the respect from volunteers that are themselves are in other unions (paid firefighters including NYC, Police, paid EMS, Town workers,) These volunteers are union members so they can have better pay and working conditions for them and their families but don't like when the paid force in Mohegan asks for the same for themselves and their families.

Even if the Commissioners hired 6 paid firefighters tomorrow they would still have to be trained and this would take time. I can hardly believe that such a great dept as Mohegan has been reduced to not being able to fight their own fires, because of should short sighted Commissioners.

I am getting a lesson in fire dept politics and the games people play with others lives.

The first thought that comes to mind is; under your scenario, where is the money supposed to come from to pay for the hiring of more paid FF's? Remember we are in a recession; towns and villages are finding that monies they expected to collect are way off from projections in many cases. When it comes down to hire more FF's or keep taxes down, the average citizen will most likely choose the latter. ISO ratings notwithstanding, perhaps consolidation might be a temporary fix to the problem but again its a tough sell due to the "empire" syndrome that many Fire Districts suffer from.

That being said i'm a little perplexed about volunteers FF not liking that they are being restricted by the "laws that keep them safe". Are you making your statement based on discussions held with every single fire fighter who's a member of Lake Mohegan? Or did you just talk to a handful? And did you talk with every single paid FF or just a couple who felt they didn't get much respect from the volunteers? I'd find it very difficult to believe that "every" single volunteer firefighter felt that they were being restricted by the "laws that keep them safe".

Finally, as a resident of the Lake Mohegan Fire District you are certainly entitled to proper fire protection; I'd suggest, unless you've already done so, that you attend meetings of the Board and express your concerns to them so if for nothing else at least they know that there are citizens who are concerned about the quality of fire protection that they receive.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

The first thought that comes to mind is; under your scenario, where is the money supposed to come from to pay for the hiring of more paid FF's? Remember we are in a recession; towns and villages are finding that monies they expected to collect are way off from projections in many cases. When it comes down to hire more FF's or keep taxes down, the average citizen will most likely choose the latter.

If the dept. is down 6 firefighters and an officer, sounds to me like the budget has been reduced, or spending is being kept below the appropriated funding that the Board has in place. As you said, the average citizen would vote for keeping taxes down, but a Board of Fire Commissioners is not supposed to be average citizens; they are supposed to be able to understand the basic fundamentals of firefighting requirements for their district, and perform their duties not only with their fiduciary responsibilites in mind, but also with the safety of the district's residents and firefighters being paramount. This is why Fire Commissioners are supposed to be apolitical; nobody should be playing politics with public safety, yet it happens every day.

With the amount of work Mohegan FD has been getting lately, sounds to me like the BOFC is playing with fire not filling vacant slots, let alone expanding the job.