Public works taking over Fire

medic417

The Truth Provider
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Finally someone gets it water works people doing fire fighting.

http://www.dailytribune.com/article...er-line-dpw-workers-to-train-for-firefighting

Officials in the 1 ½-square-mile city of 8,200 residents said cross-trained DPW workers will stop doing their regular duties around town if called to help with a fire alarm. The workers will put on firefighting gear stored in their DPW trucks and drive directly to the scene of an emergency.
 

mycrofft

Still crazy but elsewhere
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Need a vollie service as well. IS anyone still forming new ones?
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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Finally someone gets it water works people doing fire fighting.

http://www.dailytribune.com/article...er-line-dpw-workers-to-train-for-firefighting

Officials in the 1 ½-square-mile city of 8,200 residents said cross-trained DPW workers will stop doing their regular duties around town if called to help with a fire alarm. The workers will put on firefighting gear stored in their DPW trucks and drive directly to the scene of an emergency.

The town that I grew up in has been doing this for years for both the fire and ambulance. 6000 person bedroom community so nearly all of the volunteers work a good distance away during the day. As a result highway and parks dept. workers are encouraged (and justly compensated) to get their EMT and FF1. The ambulance and first due engine always gets out, and the PD provides additional first responder services.

Though the town has the money to staff the ambulance full time, the citizen's choose not too and I think this is probably the next best solution.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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they aren't taking over, they are supplementing the existing career department.

in NJ, many DPW workers are volunteer firefighters, and are allowed to leave their jobs to answer fire calls. some are even paid their hourly rate during that time.

how is this any different than the FD staffing an ambulance to back up the EMS system?
 

46Young

Level 25 EMS Wizard
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From the article:

“This (agreement) allows us to vastly improve our service to the community at a minimal cost,”

.... kind of like a FD doing EMS first response, or cross-training their people to do EMS txp, no?

Anyway, I'd like to see any of those pictured hump a 2 1/2" hose bundle, a tool, and the officer's bag up ten flights of stairs in an expiditious manner, let alone be of any use after reaching the top, especially the lady and the old guy. How about throwing laddering a building by themselves (which the truck driver routinely does) 4-5 times or more (quickly) right after arriving onscene? I won't even get into the physical demands of victim rescue or RIT.

I'm probably being too harsh, though. We have an annual Work Performance Exam which consists of a firefighter in full PPE and on air, do a ladder throw and raise, 50 steps with a hose bundle, forcible entry with the sledge, run out with a charged hose, crawl back on it, then pull it in, breach and pull twice each, equipment carry, Keiser sled hits, then a 160# dummy drag back and forth, in 10:47 or less. If you literally go through it at a slow, steady pace, it'll take you maybe 7:30. Most do it in 5-6 mins, the record being 3_20-something. We somehow have people fail this every year, and it nauseates me to see people cheering on someone who barely makes it through with like a 10:19, then struts around all pumped up like that's something to be proud of.
 

DeepFreeze

Forum Lieutenant
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The town that I grew up in has been doing this for years for both the fire and ambulance. 6000 person bedroom community so nearly all of the volunteers work a good distance away during the day. As a result highway and parks dept. workers are encouraged (and justly compensated) to get their EMT and FF1. The ambulance and first due engine always gets out, and the PD provides additional first responder services.

Though the town has the money to staff the ambulance full time, the citizen's choose not too and I think this is probably the next best solution.

Dover?
 

WestMetroMedic

Forum Lieutenant
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On my suburban paid on call fire department serving 40k people, we have -
The streets supervisor (asst chief)
The electrical supervisor (capt)
The journeyman lineman (lt)
A water and sewer employee

We have a nearly guaranteed first out truck. A public works job isn't a cake walk either, and they don't have all of the luxurious task specific ergonomic equipment fire and EMS often has access to.

You have to make due with what you have. Paid on call departments are a different beast. Do they work with the ruthless efficiency of a full time department? Nope. But a volunteer department still gets their task done.
 

triemal04

Forum Deputy Chief
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On my suburban paid on call fire department serving 40k people, we have -
The streets supervisor (asst chief)
The electrical supervisor (capt)
The journeyman lineman (lt)
A water and sewer employee
But are those people part of the fire department because they have to be, or are they a part of it and just also happen to work for the city in another capacity?

Allowing someone who is also part of the cities own fire department to leave their regular job to go on a call is different than making it a new part of their duties, which it would appear is what is happening here.
 

WestMetroMedic

Forum Lieutenant
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The point you make is very valid. Our firefighters are on the department by choice. But...

From the article -
"Under the accord, any future DPW workers must undergo Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 training at the Macomb Fire Academy, at the city’s expense. They will not receive paramedic training.

According to the agreement, current DPW employees are not required to serve as on-call firefighters — but most have volunteered already."
 

NYMedic828

Forum Deputy Chief
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I'm probably being too harsh, though. We have an annual Work Performance Exam which consists of a firefighter in full PPE and on air, do a ladder throw and raise, 50 steps with a hose bundle, forcible entry with the sledge, run out with a charged hose, crawl back on it, then pull it in, breach and pull twice each, equipment carry, Keiser sled hits, then a 160# dummy drag back and forth, in 10:47 or less. If you literally go through it at a slow, steady pace, it'll take you maybe 7:30. Most do it in 5-6 mins, the record being 3_20-something. We somehow have people fail this every year, and it nauseates me to see people cheering on someone who barely makes it through with like a 10:19, then struts around all pumped up like that's something to be proud of.

Sounds like an unofficial CPAT with PPE and an SCBA instead of a 50lb vest.

I like it. I wish we could input a fitness standard for volly departments but then each department would only have 3 members.
 

46Young

Level 25 EMS Wizard
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Sounds like an unofficial CPAT with PPE and an SCBA instead of a 50lb vest.

I like it. I wish we could input a fitness standard for volly departments but then each department would only have 3 members.

If you fail the WPE, you're taken out of ops and placed on day work with a PT session with a trainer every day, and then you re-take the test maybe a month later or so. What makes me sick is that the county lets certain units go out of service for an hour or two once a tour to go to our CPAT facility to prepare for the test.

Maybe I'm being a little too harsh. t's not like firefighting is a physical job or anything
 

NYMedic828

Forum Deputy Chief
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If you fail the WPE, you're taken out of ops and placed on day work with a PT session with a trainer every day, and then you re-take the test maybe a month later or so. What makes me sick is that the county lets certain units go out of service for an hour or two once a tour to go to our CPAT facility to prepare for the test.

Maybe I'm being a little too harsh. t's not like firefighting is a physical job or anything

That fat :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: may be the one who has to pull you out in a worst case scenario. God forbid he had to be in shape.
 

46Young

Level 25 EMS Wizard
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That fat :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: may be the one who has to pull you out in a worst case scenario. God forbid he had to be in shape.

It seems to me that a lot of people just bank on this being a safe place to work, as in not running any real fires, or that we'll go defensive real quick due to type V construction (stick homes). There are people that have actually refused to go inside! No joke. My wife asks me why I exercise so much when so-and-so and what's-his-name don't do anywhere near as much as me (MOS friends of ours) and my response is that they should be, that it's dangerous not to. In BJJ we used to say that fatigue cuts your strength (at least) in half. It doesn't matter how much you know, or how technically proficient you are if you're too gassed to do anything. It baffles me how firefighters take such a cavalier approach to fitness throughout their careers and just get lucky that they don't get themselves or someone else killed.
 
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