Search the ArchivesNavigation Contact InformationThe Citizen Newspapers For Advertising Information Email us your news! For technical difficulties |
An open Letter to The Fulton County BOC regarding staffing in the Fire Dept.The following is a letter was submitted today to the Fulton County BOC regarding the staffing level of the Fulton County Fire Department. To The Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Chairman and Honorable Commissioners Recently, It has been identified there is a serious concern in regards to the staffing levels for the Fulton County Fire Department. The International Association of Firefighters Local #3920 has been campaigning to preserve 32 firefighter’s positions within the county. These positions were unfunded on July 23, 2008, in the amount of $1.6 million for a total of 29 various positions within the fire department. These positions were in the South Fulton area. Chief Few held these positions for the firefighters that were in Johns Creek to move south and bring the staffing level to safe and efficient levels as he presented earlier this year a proposal of 200 personnel for the Fulton County Fire department for the year 2009. He even solicited our support in this staffing plan, and we meet with some of you in regards to this plan. There are national standards that cover what a safe and efficient level of staffing for a fire department should be for effective operations. These standards were established by fire professionals all across the country. They included representatives from the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). This standard was adopted by the National Fire Protection Association and became standard NFPA 1710. This standard states that all career fire departments should have at least 4 personal on all engines and trucks. In high hazard areas such as Fulton Industrial Blvd. trucks should run with 5 or 6. Therefore IAFF Local #3920 supports NFPA 1710 for the safety of all firefighters and the citizens of Fulton County. To illustrate this point we provide the following example. On June 18th, 2007, a fire broke out in Charleston, S.C. at a furniture store at 7:00p.m. Before one hour was passed, 9 firefighters were dead inside. These firefighter’s deaths were summarized in a report by the City of Charleston Post Incident Assessment and Review Team. In that report, the Review Team has a section on Inadequate Company Staffing in the Initial Response. The following is a direct excerpt from the report: “…The operational policy of the Charleston Fire Department at the time of the incident was to assign 4 crew members to each company on each shift; however, companies routinely operated with only 3 members on duty. All 3 companies that were initially dispatched to the Sofa Super Store were operating with 3 crew members and only 2 of the first 9 companies were staffed with 4 members. The inadequate company level staffing meant that each individual unit was operating with limited capabilities and could not be expected to perform as an effective company at a working structure fire. The inadequate company staffing compromised the effectiveness of the overall operation.” This is one of many hazards now faced by the Fulton County Fire Department. As the aforementioned report and many others show, short staffing is the biggest hazard now facing the fire service today. Don’t let our fire department fall victim to this transgression. The members of IAFF Local #3920 therefore oppose any layoffs of firefighters, especially in the face of fire trucks running beneath NFPA 1710. Recently, Company 7 which consists of an engine and ladder truck, and should be staffed with 8 persons, has been providing service with only 4 firefighters. This is a very dangerous situation in which the firefighters would be hard pressed to safely and effectively perform rescues and fire attacks. The firefighters of Fulton County Fire Department already have a dangerous job and it should not be made more difficult by dangerously low staffing levels. It was recently stated by Chief Few at a press conference that staffing levels in Fulton County Fire Department will be adequate. He stated that “3 firefighters is sufficient”, IAFF Local 3920 disagrees with this statement and strongly urges the county to follow national staffing standards. By following national staffing standards, the county’s liability would be greatly reduced in the event of legal action taken by affected parties. Chief Few’s statement that there are 125 firefighters for South Fulton is accurate, however, there will only be approximately 40 firefighters per day serving the entire South Fulton area. One structure fire for example, will require a response of at least 18 personnel, thus leaving dangerous gaps in coverage in the remaining territories of South Fulton. We, the members of IAFF Local #3920, ask that the members of the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County support the proposed $13.5 million budget. We also ask that in the future, the budget be increased so that we can make this ailing fire department into one that the taxpayers of Fulton County can take great pride in. This fire department should have the ability to safely and effectively protect all citizens while delivering services efficiently for their tax dollars paid. Donna Dingler CC: Zack Williams, County Manager 
|
Copyright 2010 - Fayette Publishing, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use Policy
Server 4
