St. Louis to lay off 30 firefighters

[Geppetto 31]

Stltoday.com

BY DAVID HUNN • dhunn@post-dispatch.com

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

"In addition, said chief of staff Jeff Rainford, the city will cut 24 more positions through attrition, bringing the cuts to nearly 10 percent of the department's 600 firefighters.

Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson vowed the layoffs would not affect public safety. "It's going to put a strain on us," he said. "It's my job to get through it."

Firefighters said they had heard the rumors but were surprised to hear the decision. Chris Molitor, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 73, said the news would be tough to take.

"First, it's going to completely destroy morale," he said. "Number two, it's going to harm the citizens. There will be fewer firefighters to respond to fires...."

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_bdd20e68-d7fb-553d-b5b8-2a963a040eda.html

[x129K 1,393]

I wonder how many of those jobs could have been saved had the city run true pupmers instead of quints for each engine company?

[lad12derff 283]

I wonder how many of those jobs could have been saved had the city run true pupmers instead of quints for each engine company?

How would that help?

[x129K 1,393]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[lad12derff 283]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

?????????????????????????????

[TSull 33]

I wonder how many of those jobs could have been saved had the city run true pupmers instead of quints for each engine company?

I believe St. Louis went to the "Quint" concept years ago in their last "manpower reduction" phase. By eliminating traditional engine companies and ladder companies, they were able to eliminate an officer and I believe 2 firefighter positions per company (and mulitply that by 4 shifts). Correct me if my memory is cloudy but the "Quint" concept was used in a bunch of places as the answer to different cities wanting to "reduce the taxpayer burdern".

I am still waiting to hear a fire chief or a mayor say that "service will be affected by these cuts" instead of the same qoute that "despite laying off 30 firefighters and losing another 24 through attrition, service will not be affected".

[x129K 1,393]

?????????????????????????????

I am sure that quints cost more money than engines.

Perhaps had they saved some of that money by purchasing engines, and not the quints, they would have more money..

Maybe not..it was just a thought.

[x129K 1,393]

I believe St. Louis went to the "Quint" concept years ago in their last "manpower reduction" phase. By eliminating traditional engine companies and ladder companies, they were able to eliminate an officer and I believe 2 firefighter positions per company (and mulitply that by 4 shifts). Correct me if my memory is cloudy but the "Quint" concept was used in a bunch of places as the answer to different cities wanting to "reduce the taxpayer burdern".

I am still waiting to hear a fire chief or a mayor say that "service will be affected by these cuts" instead of the same qoute that "despite laying off 30 firefighters and losing another 24 through attrition, service will not be affected".

Ahhh...gotcha. Thnaks.

[FireMedic049 597]

I am still waiting to hear a fire chief or a mayor say that "service will be affected by these cuts" instead of the same qoute that "despite laying off 30 firefighters and losing another 24 through attrition, service will not be affected".

Actually I have seen that and not too long ago, but forget what city it was from. I think it was in the northeast area.

[x129K 1,393]

Actually I have seen that and not too long ago, but forget what city it was from. I think it was in the northeast area.

Camden perhaps?

What a line of garbage!

[antiquefirelt 994]

I am still waiting to hear a fire chief or a mayor say that "service will be affected by these cuts" instead of the same qoute that "despite laying off 30 firefighters and losing another 24 through attrition, service will not be affected".

Don't hold your breath for the truth! If I were a taxpayer there I'd ask the Chief why he'd over inflated his staffing over the years? You cannot cut numbers and still deliver the same services, in the same manner, unless you have a lot of excess, which I highly doubt.

[PCFD ENG58 1,085]

?????????????????????????????

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ny10570 745]

I love that "this will not affect service garbage. If thats true than you've been ripping off the taxpayers for years! So either these officials are terrible managers or flat out liars.

[M' Ave 1,466]

I am sure that quints cost more money than engines.

Perhaps had they saved some of that money by purchasing engines, and not the quints, they would have more money..

Maybe not..it was just a thought.

While a Quint certainly costs more to purchase than an Engine, it's hardly a noticeable line item on a city budget. The cost of a piece of apparatus can be averaged out over it's 10-15 year lifespan and when you break it down that way, it's pretty cheap. What costs money is men, unfortunately for the bean counters, manpower is the only thing that can effect a rescue or put a fire out. Going to a Quint, as opposed to a traditional Engine/Truck model, saves money while sacrificing capabilities. This isn't to say that Quints are a bad idea. They're appropriate for certain situations, such as a volunteer organization.

The piece of apparatus that a company rides in does not define that company. What defines them is the job that they perform at the fire or other emergency. When you have a Quint, you have a rig that's sort of an engine and sort of a ladder, but what will it be when it arrives? Are it's members going to search for survivors and vent or are they going to extinguish the fire?

A quint is a way to cut staff thus cutting the budget and create some illusion of continued firefighting capabilities. In reality, you've cut the number of men and exchanged two precise tools for one half-assed hybrid. Your firefighting abilities are considerably hampered and, sadly, the public is non-the-wiser.