Items by Lou Angelli et al
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October 17, 1999
Webmasters: Feel free to repost or republish with appropriate byline and links.
Authenticator on file with jerryfire@earthlink.net The Emergency Grapevine
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"DAVID vs. GOLIATH"
"Delaware's Volunteer Firefighters Assaulted By Publishing Giant"
Part 1 of a 3-Part Series
by: Lou Angeli
Commentary:
��Flirting With Disaster
(Wilmington, DE - October 13, 1999) - It's 2:27am and inside the Emergency Communications Center in a Wilmington suburb, two fire dispatchers simultaneously answer the ringing phone line. "Fire and Ambulance!" On the other end, a frantic caller reports that "smoke is coming from the apartment building next door."
As the caller continues her rapid fire report, the computer system already has processed her location and displays a "pre-determined response" of volunteer stations - the fire companies that are scheduled to be dispatched. Before the call is ever completed, tone alerts activate a hundred or so pagers and, even though it's 2:30am, the first Engine Company hits the street within three minutes.
Aboard the responding pumper are five firefighters, ranging in age from 18 to 62. These are folks like you and me, who represent a broad section of the community in which they live. One is retired, another is an ordained minister, the third is a "mom", and two are employees of a local auto assembly plant. They are trained as a team, and right now this team is engaged in the age old race between "man" and "the beast".
As the Pumper races to the scene, dispatchers issue an urgent alert via radio. "Receiving several calls!" It's the dispatcher's way of saying, "Step It Up!" The driver's right foot becomes a bit heavier, and the apparatus picks up speed. As crew members prepare to do battle, one adrenaline-charged firefighter pounds the engine cowling with his gloved fist, "Let's Do It!". In a more reserved response, the female firefighter touches the "angel" medallion inside her turnout coat, given her by her children.
Similar scenarios are taking place aboard other firefighting machines, as volunteer members from two other departments respond in mutual-aid of the FIRST-IN company. Within five and a half minutes of the first phone call, the retired guy, the minister, the mom and the auto plant employees arrive "on location" and issue a radio report of "persons trapped".
In the crucial minutes that follow, they risk their lives as they go about the dangerous job of rescuing trapped victims from the upper balconies of the the Garden Apartment complex. Fortunately, they are successful, and thanks to the volunteers' quick response, the 12 individuals that were plucked from the fire's deadly grip, tonight will only be 'homeless' - instead of 'dead'.
This is not the narrative from some new fictional novel. It is 'firefighting verite' - the type of firefight that occurs in the First State a hundred times each year. These are the "worst case scenarios" for which Delaware's volunteers spend tens of thousands of hours preparing. It's also the type of fire incident to which Delaware's Volunteers have responded for over two centuries.*
The New Antagonist
But these days, volunteers in the Diamond State are facing a very NEW nemisis, one that fire school instructors in Dover never trained them to recognize. And in more ways than one, this new antagonist is far more devastating, more damaging than the the flame breathing "beast" that they both hate and respect.
The new "beast on the block" is veteran News-Journal columnist Ron Williams, and cooling this cat will take more than 1,000 gallons of water laced with Class-A foam.
Using Delaware's largest newspaper as his megaphone, Mr. Williams has taken on the Volunteer Fire Service, claiming that the Fire-EMS-Rescue delivery system has fallen apart. In a series of Opinions that some say are riddled with false allegations, innuendo and misinformation, Williams claims that "now is the right time" to "phase out the volunteer emergency system". In my mind, his agenda is simple; to discredit the volunteers and confuse and mislead the citizens of Delaware into believing that their fire-rescue system there is collapsing.
The National Assault Against Volunteers
The current assault against the nation's volunteer firefighters comes not from a concerned citizenry or community, but rather from members of the Fifth Estate - the press. In Indianapolis, Mr. Williams colleague, Star News Reporter Joe Gelarden, has waged a similar print war against the nation's largest volunteer fire-rescue agency. And he's done a pretty good job.
After several years of blistering attacks against the Wayne Township Fire Department, Gelarden's opinion laden reporting style has paid off. In August, the Township Trustee somehow convinced his Board that the volunteer system was no longer viable, unable to provide a constant level of service to the Township. The citizens were led to believe that it was a system that had fallen apart, and the Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department was ordered out of existence.
On January 1st, that community's 500 Fire-EMS-Rescue volunteers are scheduled to be replaced by just 62 full time firefighters. To place that situation in perspective for Delawareans, imagine a population THREE TIMES LARGER than that of Wilmington being protected by a fire-rescue force ONE THIRD the size of the Wilmington Fire Department.
But the situation in Indiana is politically motivated, a power-play that pits volunteers against a Republican "Trustee" supported by one of the nation's most powerful Firefighters' Union locals. With nearly 7,000 volunteer members statewide, and a cordial relationship with IAFF Local 1590, politics is not the problem in Delaware. It's the publishing giant named Gannett.
I predicted in August that the Wayne Township situation would have far reaching effects, and serve as the inspiration for other department takeovers. I also noted that the next attack against volunteerism would take place on the East Coast, either in Long Island, Pennsylvania or Delaware. Unfortunately, I didn't believe that it would take place so soon, in my own backyard, against the men and women with whom I've trained, worked, laughed and cried.
Check Your Aim, Ron
In reading his recent condemnations of Delaware's volunteers, I can't help but wonder if Mr. Williams has somehow misplaced his notes or research information. Because the fire-rescue system that he degrades in his opinions and editorials is not the one that really operates in Delaware.
Williams provides his captive audience with the impression that Delaware's volunteers are some strange species - a lowlife group that emerged from the depths of the Delaware Bay off Lewes. Indeed, that's how most attacks against the volunteer system begin - a strike against the fire-rescue culture.
Like so many other journalists before him, Williams plays upon unknowing readers suggesting that the folks who are responding to "their" community's emergencies are simply a group of "yahoos", whose only thrill is to race to fires aboard the screaming fire machines.
That simply isn't true. The system in Delaware continues to serve as the template for departments nationwide. It relies on members from all walks of life - including physicians, attorneys, professionals, laborers, students...and moms. These are a dedicated group, whose devotion to the volunteerism make the Delaware Volunteer Fire Service one of the most successful in the country.
Mr Williams also has the unfortunate tendency to describe the fire service in black and white terms. Career members are one color - volunteers another. There are no grays in Mr. Williams' imaginary world of firefighting. In reality, ALL First State firefighters are PROFESSIONAL, regardless of their career vocation or volunteer avocation. In Delaware, firefighting personnel are well trained by a common agency using standard guidelines. Each member must meet rigorous standards that some feel surpass the national recommendation as set by the National Fire Protection Association's "1001 Firefighter Qualifications".
Surely, it is a system that is evolving. Delaware's volunteers have probably seen more change in the past 20 years than they did in its first 190 years of existence. But volunteer administrators have responded to these changes by providing a full range of diversified services, from emergency medical - to hazmat - and now, even terrorist response. Simply put, it is a proactive system, one that is emulated by departments nationwide.
To date, Mr. Williams has suggested no solid alternatives to the existing volunteer system. Should we use the Wilmington Fire Department as the example for a county or statewide career system? Don't think so! In less than eight years, that department, once heralded as the "ideal" of small department administration, has fallen victim to political interference and woeful mismanagement.
I am an advocate of the Combination System. It makes good sense to augment volunteer response with fulltime personnel who can serve as an "Immediate Response Team", especially during daytime hours when the volunteer core are working at full time jobs. But the key to a successful Combination System is to keep control in the local fire district.
Every expert that I've interviewed suggests that the ideal combination system is one in which the "career" staff support the "volunteers". A system that treats both volunteer and career members as equals, based on training, experience and seniority. A system where the only distinction in color, is whether the fire engines are red, white or green.
One final note. How does one repair the damage inflicted by reporters like Mr. Williams against the volunteer system. All citizens deserve to be made aware of the truth. Unfortunately, most volunteer fire-rescue agencies don't own newspapers or television stations. They're too busy fighting fires and responding to medical emergencies.
In Part Two of this series, I'll report on the implementation of Combination systems in two adjoining fire districts in Missouri - Central County Fire Protection District and O'Fallon FPD, both suburbs of St. Louis. In one, you'll see how converting exisitng active volunteers into a "reserve force" (in support of career members) ended in disaster. The other was successful by working within the system, maintaining its volunteers as the core of the department's operation.
-30- comments to firetv@aol.com
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BREAKING NEWS from Firefighter.Com "Last Week's House Bill Stalls As A Result of Military Add-Ons" "High Ranking GOP Member Picks Up The Torch To Sponsor Senate Legislation" by: Lou Angeli Flirting With Disaster (Washington DC) - Following last week's whirlwind trip through the US House, a special $100 million appropriation for Fire and Rescue has become stalled in the Senate, and for all practical purposes is dead. According to Pete Peterson of Congressman Curt Weldon's office, "last week's Supplemental Appropriations Bill got too big because of military add-ons, and the Senate decided not to act on the Legislation." Supporters of Weldon's amendment had hoped that Senator Ted Stevens (R) Alaska, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee would help move the Bill through the Senate, but Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott (R) Mississippi, who is vehemently opposed to additional spending, refuses to allow the Supplemental Bill to reach the Senate floor. Amidst discouraging events on Capitol Hill, there was good news from Washington via the State of Delaware. Senator William V. Roth Jr. (R) Delaware, Chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, announced on Friday that he is taking the torch from Weldon and sponsoring separate Senate legislation to provide the $100 Million in funding to America's Fire Rescue Services. Roth's proposed bill mirrors the language that was designed by Congressman Weldon for his House Amendment. Unlike the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, Roth's "21st Century Fire and Emergency Services Act of 2000" is an authorization bill, which would require a second trip to the Senate floor for appropriation approval. As a stand alone bill, "21st Century Fire Act" would be returned to the House for their consideration, then back to the Senate for an appropriation vote. However, many in Washington feel that the senior Senator from Delaware will somehow attach his proposed legislation to an existing appropriation bill, rather than going the stand alone route. Such a move would speed the process considerably, and make monies available during fiscal year 2001. In either case, the bill would likely end up in "conference" with members of the Senate and House conferring together. Many believe that Roth is the right man to make the pitch in the Senate. He is a ranking member and Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. And although he is considered a fiscal conservative, he has long been a friend to the fire-rescue services. Key to Senator Roth's involvement is the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association, whose membership approached the veteran Senator this past week, asking him to back the legislation. "As Chairman of the Congressional Fire Service Caucus, Bill Roth is the logical sponsor of this important bill," said Steve Austin DVFA President. "Senator Roth has a long history of supporting the Delaware Fire Service. Since being named Chairman of the Fire Caucus in 1998 the Senator has weighed in on a number of significant national fire and emergency services issues." he added. Back in the House, Congressman Curt Weldon (R) Pennsylvania, asked for a greater understanding of the fire-rescue dilemma among House members. In an impassioned plea to his colleagues on Tuesday evening Weldon said "Mr. Speaker, we need to create an awareness among our Senate colleagues that this issue is extremely important. I would ask my colleagues to lobby the leaders in the other body on the need to move this legislation to provide this $100 million of funding." In the nationally televised speech, an emotionally charged Weldon chastised fellow Republican Senator Trent Lott, and honored Delaware's Roth. He noted, "Even though Senator Lott has said he will not bring up an emergency supplemental bill as an individual piece of legislation, Senator Roth has said he will champion the amendment that I offered as a separate freestanding effort in the Senate." Senator Roth's mission won't be an easy one, as the Washington Post went on record today as opposing Federal spending for Fire and Rescue. In a scathing editorial, the Post's E.J. Dionne, Jr says, "Wasn't this Republican Congress elected to scale back the federal government? Haven't we been told over and over that Washington has no business getting involved with what were traditionally "state and local" responsibilities? Isn't firefighting a quintessentially "local" responsibility?" Commentary: Any departments out there willing to allow Mr. Dionne to ride the front seat to get a real feel for firefighting. And to Mr. Dionne, please note. The beast has no political affiliations, nor does it differentiate from federal or local support. All we know is that 109 of our brothers and sisters lost their lives last year, and another one-third were injured. We're looking toward the federal government to help stop the insanity, not create more! read the Washington Post commentary at: GOP Firefighters (washingtonpost.com) comments: firetv@aol.com Re
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