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Permalink Reply by 55 TRUCK on August 31, 2011 at 11:57pm

I would get the firefighters that do live in district regardless of what dept. there on.
Out line your concerns, then as a group of concerned tax payers, go to your Mayor or
town council meeting. That is the best way I know of to change things.
Another option is to, return to the company and get voted in.as chief.

Good luck & God bless

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on September 1, 2011 at 12:52am

Over the past 12 months the department as scratched or been the last to respond to 4 out of 5 working alarms in district. A fire next door to the fire house they didn't get out. A serious gas leak same thing. They only run the ambulance 7a to 7p and there have been two serious calls after 7p. One was at 7:08 for a cardiac arrest.
The final straw for me was a house fire 2 sundays ago about 1/4 of a mile away and they were 5th of 6 pieces of equipment onscene.

Shut the front door.

 

I'll be honest, I'm torn right now because part of me want to use such info to counter the "we do the same job" mantra used by some people on this site. I also see a prime example of how there can be disparities with a volunteer dept, meaning hit and miss responses. Furthermore I see reasoning that there perhaps should be career personnel in place.

 

However, none of those gets to the problem at hand here and I can see the issue. Along the same lines it depends as to what created these issues, why was the live in program stopped? What changes were made that people up and left, was it truly a departmental thing or was there more involved? Was this budget issues, was this politics, was this just ego? Yes, morale can be an issue, but is it truly because of the changes made or was the departure of many because of the resistance to change? Was this a good ol boys dept looking to come into a professional dept that drove people out, was it additional training or focus on it? I think there are many variables that can come into play here which can drastically factor a response. 

 

A couple things stick out to me....this being one..."Its been almost 3 years since I left. I'm not stress about going back since I have my pension time in."

 

I truly don't intend this to be critical, but unfortunatly this attitude is too apparant, especially today, the "I got mine". Now when I type this, my thoughts are moreso on retired FF's who look out for themselves, vs giving a crap of the guys still on the job. Much of this goes towards politics and the attitude of several retired FF's who could give a crap less about those they left behind. So when I see that having pension time in seems to trump dept concerns, that does stick out. 

 

On the other side, I absolutely see and understand the concerns coming from a citizen of the community who also happens to have departmental experience. That experience should also speak volumes and can and should be a voice for those on the job. With this I do agree with the brother from Indiana about notifying your elected officials, get the message out. Not so much about bashing the current admin or expounding on the reasons you left or others left....the hell with dirty laundry. Instead focus on the aspect that many responding are from out of district. Highlight how the live in program seemed to work and focus on bringing this back. Be ready for the budget issues, but look at resolutions rather than focusing on problems. Make sure you have a very good understanding of why you left and talk to others why they did. If it is about the abolishment of a good ol boys dept, then perhaps the problem was in the mirror. If not, look for solutions.....politicians will be more willing to listen when you bring forth ideas and solutions rather than dirty laundry.

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Permalink Reply by Triple J on September 4, 2011 at 12:14pm

Very well said John. While I have the highest regard for unpaid professionals that spend countless hours volunteering for their local VFD, there does come a time when disbanding needs to be considered. We owe it to our citizens to provide adequate fire protection at all times. The problems may be able to be resolved by simply going to your Public Officials and offering an idea of what might work and what isn't working. They may have no idea that the dorms were closed down or they may have been the ones to order them closed. Offering options rather than just criticizing will go much further. Sadly, it may have to come down to a complete switch to paid staff or keeping the volunteers with a small paid staff (i.e. Engineers, Officers). Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all option for everywhere that this is a problem.

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