Save Station 18: They are at it again -- 27 firefigthers to be cut -- Station 18 to be downgraded

Monday, August 8, 2011

They are at it again -- 27 firefigthers to be cut -- Station 18 to be downgraded

Please get involved to stop the horrendous cuts being proposed to public safety by the Mayor and City Manager.

The 2012 Budget has been given to the City Council by the Mayor and it contains 27 firefighters being eliminated, 13 police patrol officers and 3 branch libraries beings reduced to "reading rooms."

I am hosting a Community Conversation on the budget, on August 29th at 6:30 pm at the El Dorado Community Room at 2800 Studebaker.

Click here to read the budget documents so you can be prepared for discussions.

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Fire Fighting Lingo

Here's some basic terms in fire fighting we all should know:

ISO Rating: A community’s ability to combat fire is measured, in part, by its insurance rating. The Chicago-based Insurance Service Office (ISO) is often consulted by insurance companies to establish an overall fire rating for a county, city or fire district. ISO ratings, which range from 1 (best) to 10 (worst), are used by insurance companies to set both commercial and residential fire insurance premiums. A reduction in the ISO rating results in lower premiums for a community.
The ISO determines an overall rating for a community using a complicated formula involving many subcategories and factors. These include demographics, water availability and pressure,
hydrant location, available equipment, and number of personnel (career or volunteer) who work for the fire department.

OSHA and NFPA Guidelines for Staffing: Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines require a “two-in, two-out” policy for firefighters entering a burning structure. No firefighter should enter a burning structure alone, and when two firefighters do enter a structure (two-in), two more firefighters (two-out) should be immediately available to assist them if the need arises. The 2002 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines provide that, “…a minimum acceptable fire company staffing level should be four members responding on or arriving with each engine and each ladder company responding to any type of fire.” Clearly, the minimum number of firefighters responding to a structure fire should be no less than four.

Engine Company: Fire companies whose primary functions are to pump and deliver water and perform basic firefighting at fires, including search and rescue

Ladder Company: Fire companies whose primary functions are to perform the variety of services associated with truck work, such as forcible entry, ventilation, search and rescue, aerial operations for water delivery and rescue, utility control,
illumination, overhaul, and salvage work.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support/Paramedic Unit, firefighters trained as paramedics to provide advanced cardiac life support and transport to local emergency rooms.

Basic Life Support Unit, non-firefighters who are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians to provide basic medical care and transport to local emergency rooms.

National Fire Protection Association Staffing Guidelines: NFPA 1710 provides the necessary clarification for city managers and fire department administrations in regards to necessary staffing where high-hazard occupancies or other critical conditions exist. It very clearly dictates that Engine and Truck Companies shall be staffed at a minimum of 5 or 6 firefighters.

More on staffing: International City Management Association, Managing Fire Services, 2nd Edition
(Washington, DC:ICMA): The ICMA cited various controlled and statistically based experiments by jurisdictions and universities that reveal that if 16 trained fire fighters are not operating at the scene of a working fire within the critical time period, than dollar loss and injuries are significantly increased, as are the square feet of fire spread. Additionally, as fire fighting tactics were conducted for comparative purposes, five-person fire suppression companies were judged to be 100 percent effective in their task performance, four-person companies 65 percent effective and three person companies 38
percent effective. Six-person companies are judged 20 percent faster than four-person companies.

Who Does What: Fire captain, responsible for management, incident support and filing of reports. Once on the scene, the captain arranges for any necessary assistance or backup.
Fire engineer, primarily responsible for driving the apparatus and the delivery of water. An engineer must stay with the engine at all times during water delivery. Engineers may administer medical aid and assist with vehicle extractions on non-fire calls.
Firefighter, responsible for laying hose, making hydrant connections and fire suppression. Firefighters may also administer medical aid and assist with vehicle extractions.

Firefighting is a dangerous and physically demanding profession. Firefighters work long shifts and must be constantly ready to respond within minutes to a wide range of emergencies. When not responding to calls, fire station personnel clean and test equipment, assist with building inspections, and participate in training exercises. The weight of a firefighter’s gear averages more than 50 pounds and hoses can weigh more than 75 pounds. Because of protective clothing, a firefighter’s body temperature can increase five degrees while actively engaged in fire suppression. According to the NFPA, excluding the daily risk of occupational death, the life expectancy of a firefighter is five years shorter than that of the average population... --from the 2005/2006 Shasta County Grand Jury report that found the City of Redding, California not properly funding, nor staffing its Fire Department after a resident complained to the Grand Jury that one of Redding's Fire Station's was closed 20% of the day. (Under California Penal Code 993, a county grand jury may investigate and report on the operations of any municipality within the county.)

Monday, August 8, 2011

They are at it again -- 27 firefigthers to be cut -- Station 18 to be downgraded

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