On another topic, the Council decided during a closed-door session with the Fire
Board to hold off on hiring a consulting firm to study the possible conversion
of the Fire Department to full or partial volunteer status.
from yesterday's article on Union Station. http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/niagaracounty/story/492266.html
I find it strange that they are still considering this. A discussion was held on the LUSJ forums about this a while back but I think it has dropped off the list into the black hole never to be seen again.
Is anyone in the city for this type of conversion? I have always considered a paid professional fire company a positive when deciding to live somewhere. Especially somewhere with many older homes all located in close proximity to each other. With the tragedy that happened with the three children recently it underscores the importance of the quickest response possible. I do have a few friends that are volunteer fireman and respect what they do for their districts. I just prefer and actual staffed dept.
The number I recall being thrown around was around $270 per year per household to staff the LFD. If true $20 a month seems a small price to pay. (anyone recall the actual number?)
( image from BFD engine in St. Patrick's parade.)
10 comments:
My father had a heart attack while he was working at Delphi and it was their quick action and ability to remain cool when my father coded right on the ambulance that is the reason I believe he is still here today. Now, if he was at home where he has a volunteer fire department, I don't think we would be so lucky. And when I went to the ER and spoke with the paramedic (Provenzano) he was nothing but courteous to me and my family under this time of great stress.
One of the things that I like about the city is having the fire department 24-7, and just as Rocketboy said, the volunteers have jobs as well. I think when it comes down to it, response time is #1.
What they maybe should consider doing is what the fire department does on the airbase, and work 24 hr shifts. Granted it is a different type of environment and call status, but it might help with the staffing situation. And it lessens the amount of call-ins they have, and the mental lag you get from swing shifts.
Growth and Speed of a House Fire
The following is a timeline of an actual 2-story house fire as studied by the Nation Fire Protection agency(NFPA). It will show you just how fast fire spreads and why The Lockport Fire Departments average response time of two minutes and 42 seconds is so critical:
• :30 Fire ignites and grows rapidly.
• 1:04 From first flame, fire spreads and smoke begins to fill room.
• 1:35 Smoke layer descends rapidly, temperature exceeds 190°F.
• 1:50 Smoke detector at foot of stairs alarms. Still time to get out.
• 2:30 Temperature above couch over 400°F.
• 2:42 The average time it took the Lockport Fire Department to get to any emergency in 2004.
• 2:48 Smoke pours into other rooms.
• 3:03 Temperature three feet above floor in room of origin is over 500°F.
• 3:20 Upstairs hall filled with smoke - Escape more difficult.
• 3:41 FLASHOVER - Energy in room of origin ignites everything. Temperature is 1400°F.
• 3:50 Two minutes after smoke detectors sounds, 2nd exit is only way out.
• 4:33 Flames just now visible from exterior of house - first evidence of fire from outside.
AT THIS POINT, RESCUE IS VERY UNLIKELY
• 6:00+ Most Niagara County Volunteer Fire Companies and 65% of all fire departments/companies nationwide do not meet the National Fire Protection Agencies standard of a 6 minutes or under response time.
17 minutes to get to the house fire in Hartland where 3 kids dies last week.
Do you really want voluteers?
I had forgot about the insurance discount. I wonder how much mine is. It has been a while since I looked through the policy.
They should pry use the $40,000 for something else...feasibility study of police moving to Harrison Place? ;)
As for the three kids....some info for the benefit was posted here:
http://community.cnhi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/64010858/m/7551074461
By Nancy Fischer Buffalo News:
LOCKPORT — City firefighters rescued 2-year-old Neveah Parker from a burning house Wednesday morning and carried her to safety.
Called to 172 Vine St. shortly before 7 a. m., firefighters found the mother, Karily Parker, outside the house.
“She was frantic, knowing her daughter was upstairs,” Assistant Chief Michael Seeloff said. “There was heavy smoke in the second-story eaves by the time we arrived.”
Firefighter Jim Scapelliti and his partner, Kevin Pratt, were among five firefighters who made their way into the house through thick, black smoke.
Scapelliti and Pratt made their way up the stairs to the second floor. The first room Scapelliti entered was Neveah’s and he found the toddler in her bed, unconscious.
“I absolutely knew it was her,” he said Wednesday. “But I was only half done. My next job was to get her out.”
Scapelliti said he broke out a window and handed Neveah outside to fellow firefighter Chad Ruchala, who took the girl to a waiting ambulance. Neveah on Wednesday night was in the intensive-care unit of Women and Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, where she was being treated for smoke inhalation. She was listed in stable condition, Seeloff said.
Firefighters said there was initial confusion about where Neveah was located in the house.
As Scapelliti and his partner searched upstairs for Neveah, Firefighter Mike Barnwell was searching another upstairs bedroom. Barnwell said he and other firefighters searched the room twice, checking under the bed, and broke open a hallway closet and searched a bathroom.
Firefighters also rescued two cats found hiding under a bed, Seeloff said.
Karily Parker is staying with relatives and being helped by the Red Cross, the assistant chief said.
The fire, which started in the kitchen, was caused by a rupture in one of the gas lines in an older stove. Seeloff said the mother slept in a bedroom off the kitchen, downstairs, and left the house through a first-floor bedroom window after she smelled smoke.
The fire was confined mainly to the kitchen, but with smoke and water, damage was estimated at $20,000 to the house and $10,000 to the contents.
Seeloff said two smoke detectors in the house were not operating.
Scapelliti, who has been on the city fire force for three years, said he has never had to make a rescue like this before.
He praised the teamwork of fellow firefighters, adding that he was “in the right place at the right time.”
The fire dept w/ paramedic service is what is keeping me in the city. Why does this council always look to public safety when looking for cuts? More worried about recycling, which i'm not completely against, just think we have to prioritize.
Id much rather have fire/paramedic/police than the recycling...public safety far outweighs all.
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