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Kentucky Firefighter Punished For Refusing Third Consecutive Shift
GABRIEL ROXAS
WKYT
Reprinted with Permission
WINCHESTER, Ky. (WKYT) - Doing more with less is an expectation put on workers across nearly every industry these days, but a Winchester firefighter says when it comes to emergencies, his department has gone too far.
WKYT Update:
Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner tells NEWSFIRST the hearing concluded around 11:30pm with the city commission deciding to place letters of reprimand in Raymond Patrick's city employee file after finding him guilty of violating the following two rules: 1) Violation of or refusal to obey an official order, policy, procedure, or regulation; 2) Insubordination or disrespect to a supervisor or failure to cooperate with a supervisor. The mayor says Patrick will not face a loss of income or suspension of duties.
Related
Firefighter faces punishment for refusing third consecutive 24-hour...
Back in October there was a stretch when the Winchester Fire Department responded to five fires in four days. Firefighter and paramedic Raymond Patrick thought one of those fires would be the end of 48 hours on duty, but as he prepared to go home at the end of his shift, his boss ordered him to start all over again. "If you're not rested and feel that you're up to the job, and you're in there in a structure fire fighting fire, your crew members depend on you," Patrick said, "and if you fail, then they fail."
That's why Patrick says he told his superiors he wouldn't last 72 hours straight. The 8-year veteran of the department and newly elected union president says because Winchester is understaffed, many firefighters have had to work back to back 24-hour shifts even though the standard schedule is 24-hours on, 48-hours off. "The 24-48-hour schedule was developed to give you two days away from it, so those toxins have time to clean out of your system," Patrick said.
Patrick's refusal led to a hearing before the Winchester City Commission. "What we are here about is as the mayor read in the charges, the question of whether or not Mr. Patrick violated the rules of the personnel code," Winchester City Attorney Bill Dykeman said at the hearing Tuesday night.
But Patrick says the bigger issue is the effect the department's mandatory overtime policy has on public safety when firefighters and especially paramedics are forced to work without sufficient rest. "It's not about me. It's about the department," Patrick said.
The city will decide how to discipline Patrick, but he hopes the next decisions will be about a change in policies.
That city commission hearing began at 5:30pm and was still in session late Tuesday night.
WKYT
Reprinted with Permission
WINCHESTER, Ky. (WKYT) - Doing more with less is an expectation put on workers across nearly every industry these days, but a Winchester firefighter says when it comes to emergencies, his department has gone too far.
WKYT Update:
Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner tells NEWSFIRST the hearing concluded around 11:30pm with the city commission deciding to place letters of reprimand in Raymond Patrick's city employee file after finding him guilty of violating the following two rules: 1) Violation of or refusal to obey an official order, policy, procedure, or regulation; 2) Insubordination or disrespect to a supervisor or failure to cooperate with a supervisor. The mayor says Patrick will not face a loss of income or suspension of duties.
Related
Firefighter faces punishment for refusing third consecutive 24-hour...
Back in October there was a stretch when the Winchester Fire Department responded to five fires in four days. Firefighter and paramedic Raymond Patrick thought one of those fires would be the end of 48 hours on duty, but as he prepared to go home at the end of his shift, his boss ordered him to start all over again. "If you're not rested and feel that you're up to the job, and you're in there in a structure fire fighting fire, your crew members depend on you," Patrick said, "and if you fail, then they fail."
That's why Patrick says he told his superiors he wouldn't last 72 hours straight. The 8-year veteran of the department and newly elected union president says because Winchester is understaffed, many firefighters have had to work back to back 24-hour shifts even though the standard schedule is 24-hours on, 48-hours off. "The 24-48-hour schedule was developed to give you two days away from it, so those toxins have time to clean out of your system," Patrick said.
Patrick's refusal led to a hearing before the Winchester City Commission. "What we are here about is as the mayor read in the charges, the question of whether or not Mr. Patrick violated the rules of the personnel code," Winchester City Attorney Bill Dykeman said at the hearing Tuesday night.
But Patrick says the bigger issue is the effect the department's mandatory overtime policy has on public safety when firefighters and especially paramedics are forced to work without sufficient rest. "It's not about me. It's about the department," Patrick said.
The city will decide how to discipline Patrick, but he hopes the next decisions will be about a change in policies.
That city commission hearing began at 5:30pm and was still in session late Tuesday night.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Wayne Martin Harvey on
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Patrick, I hope you can get over the management abuse, shifts were designed for a reason and that is to rest between shifts, invite the Mayor to come work with you for 72 hours and see how he copes.
Stay strong and be safe.
God Bless
Platoon Commander W M Harvey, South Africa.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Burroughs on
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For you Patrick, I can understand and empathise with you the battle your facing with Management.
As a 35 year firefighter, having served as a wildland firefighter and municipal firefighter, I can only say that you might have wanted to use a different word when you refused the shift assignment. The word is 'sick.'
You have little to stand on when management can look around the country and see wildland and municipal firefighters working the same wildland fire, working hundreds of times harder than any single structrue fire has or will every be. Its the same fire day after day and many management teams work under the NWCG guideline and work a 16 hour work shift and 8 hours of sleep between, better know as the 2 & 1.
As a 20+ year captain at this time, I can not imagine any officer denying you sleep between those calls. That would be completely insane if that was the situation there. Officers are tasked with protecting your life safety and management, I would hope, would never order an officer to command you to not rest!
I speak of this to you Patrick because this battle has been undertaken by many good intending fire fighters that want to make a point. In all the cases that I have observed, either by articles written or findings from cases shared with me directly, the outcome for the individual was never found to be in the fire fighters favor.
My wishes are for the Management team processing your situation to put this into the arena of compassion for the issue and address it appropriately. My fears are this is going to be a tad painfull for you.
I hope you can put this under the lesson title of lessons learned.
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Permalink Reply by Kim Stellhorn on
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I'm with Ralph on this one we need to hear more information....I have been on that many working calls in one shift
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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There is extensive research that says your productivity drops to less than half after 8 hours of work - and shifts should not exceed 8 hours in any industry...
Then there is research that presents that after 18 straight hours without sleep your brain functions at the level of being legally drunk... therefore, so crazy dangerous you should not be in your personal car even driving home from work, let alone working an emergency scene with the lives of other people in your hands...
f'g nuts
but let's use our town money to pave one more road or pay one more politician instead of emergency service workers
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Permalink Reply by JRF344 on
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This just stinks, the situation he was put in and the questions his brothers are posing. Here is the deal (of course my opinion only) a shift is a shift. when it ends it ends. Mandatory and OT were not made to be used together. Work is mandatory as is time off, and your time off is yours! Nobody has the right to tell you what to do with your free time. The FF's who live off OT are as guilty as those in management who force OT shifts on you. As a FF and an elected official what I have witnessed is that the crisis we are in is usually contributed to politicians before us who had no future vision or mismanaged your money now they have the balls to blame Police, Fire and other municipal workers who politicians act as if they own. Whos fault is understaffing? And the fact that some are blaming OT for busting budgets, well Firefighting is a task oriented deal with minimun amount of peole needed to do certain tasks. Sometimes hiring FF's is cheaper than OT. And if its not you still have to pay someone to do the job. Either you want a Paid department or you don't. Stop punishing workers for Politicians (at all levels) mistakes current and past. And if the dude said they had 5 fires in 4 days who cares whether you believe him or not just support his ass until the judicial system proves other wise. You would want him supporting you!
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Permalink Reply by Larry Naser on
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Mandatory overtime is managements failure to properly plan for the world we live in. I understand the need to provide service to the public, and understand shortages of people. Sounds like this guy realized that his 48 hour shift was about to become a 96 hour shift. Thanks to the 24-48 system, if anyone is working either voluntary or mandatory shift, the second mandatory shift becomes not a 24 hour shift but another 48 hour shift. Having worked stretches like that myself, my skills and thinking are not as sharp at hour 70 as it would be hour 10. Sure, you would hope he could grab a cat nap sometimes, but as a Paramedic, when do a lot of your calls come in, after 10 PM.
What if you were the patient being treated by this guy after two sleepless nights? Do you think he might misread an EKG or draw up the wrong medication to give you? This guy should be commended for saying no.
It sounds like this may not have been a one time occurrence. People cannot just keep going and going like the energizer bunny.
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Permalink Reply by Allen Wahlstrom on
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My standard shift is 72 hours, and OT can bring it to 96 or even 120 when we are short.
Is it fun to get hung for a third shift? NO
Ive been on busy and slow departments, one worked 24/24 so any OT shift turned it in to 72 with one day to recover after before going back in, and during wildland season you could count on a mandatory OT shift pretty much every week. This was to fight fire, not standby.
The department is limited by the hiring authority on manpower, and while we are not thrilled with OT (until payday) its part of the job. When you come on there is the "emergency essential" clause that says you will work, rain snow OT it does not matter...you signed the contract.
Feel for him, but he was in the wrong.
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HMM. I agree with some of the other comments not enough information. Patrick works a 24 on 48 off? But he had been on duty for 2 shifts? Was one of these shifts ovetime or shift trade? If it was overtime then I can kind of see his point, the ovetime may have been offered and he accepted. If it was a shift trade then I am less likely to take his side. A shift tade is between the employees not the management. The only thing involvment management has is to allow shift tades. Now, as far as the five fire in fours days. I am not sympathetic for him. There are many of our brothers who have more fire in one shift and some respond to double digit EMS call everyday. That just won't fly as an excuese. Firefighters work diffrent schedules in our country 24-48, 48-96, kelly schedule and modified schedule and many departments have mandatory overtime. Usually you know ahead of time your manadatory shift. No matter what the case maybe I hope Patrick goes back to work and all goes well for him. Personally, I feel this may not go well or him. Good Luck Patrick.
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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
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I wonder what the headlines and reports would be saying of this was an LODD and fatigue was found to be a contributing factor?
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Winchester has three stations, averaging less than 20 runs per day in 2007. I think there is more to this story than is told. I don't think that a difinitive arguement can be made one way or the other, just speculation.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Madairy on
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When people are tired, accidents happen. We work in a world where accidents and mistakes can be fatal. If someone was injured or killed as a result of this FF's fatigue, and he was forced to stay for another shift, it would be the responsibility of the supervisor who ordered him to stay over.
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I am glad Patrick did not lose his job. Hope you have a joyess career in the greatest profession on the face of the earth. Good luck Patrick. God Bless..
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