Wednesday, March 12, 2003
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Wednesday, March 12, 2003 |
| Missing: Enough PTC firefighters
By MONROE
ROARK
The Peachtree City Fire and Rescue Department still needs another nine firefighters so three can be added to each shift, according to Fire Chief Stony Lohr. But it appears that request may go unfunded again for a second year in a row as city staff have only budgeted for an assistant fire marshall in next year's budget. Bill Gray, a volunteer firefighter, told the City Council at its retreat Friday that even adding nine men to the ranks wouldn't meet the minimum guidelines established by the National Fire Protection Association. The previous day, the department responded to a structure fire, a medical call and a commercial fire alarm at the same time which drastically depleted its resources, Gray said. "We didn't have enough people to respond to another call," Gray said. City finance director Paul Salvatore noted the department hasn't had problems with its response times. Salvatore suggested hiring a consultant to analyze the city's need for additional fire personnel "before we spend a million dollars of taxpayer money." Gray indicated that if the department was stretched too thin on just one occasion which delayed response time to another critical situation, the city would likely be sued. He also said without hiring more firefighters, the city's insurance rating would go up, thereby increasing insurance costs for city residents. Salvatore said he felt by hiring nine firemen, the city's taxes would increase more than citizens would save with a lower insurance bill. The assessment of the fire personnel levels could begin sometime in the coming fiscal year, Salvatore said. Such a study would cost approximately $30,000. The city does have long-term plans to add another fire station to serve the western portion of the city, which is teeming with new residential development, and another for the southern side of the city. The assistant fire marshall position was also requested by Chief Lohr. City staff are recommending a maximum of one new person be hired for each department as follows: A full-time staff assistant for the administrative services department; A full-time planning assistant for the developmental services department; A full-time staff assistant for the police department; A full-time mechanic for the public services department; A part-time staff assistant and a part-time building technician for the Kedron Fieldhouse.
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