Fire Act Fraud?

[DWFAN7777]

If the Fire Marshall wasn't responding on calls as a Safety or Command officer then they weren't included in the NFPA 1710/20 as Kurt mentioned and wouldn't have been included in any SAFER application as response personnel. Therefore they wouldn't be subjected to the "pre-grant staffing" count and could be eliminated without violating any of the SAFER regulations.

Now if the narrative stated that the FM was part of command/response staffing as part of the argument on how many new positions were needed then they would be dropping below the agreed to level from the award.

Someone doing inspections that isn't certified is another animal that will get someone in deep. After all if they sign off on something as being "compliant" and a fire breaks out there then there will busloads of lawyers coming into town trying to represent the affected parties in that lawsuit...

Thanks Kurt.
Definitely a lot of political shinanigans going on. It is too bad because now it just isn't safe for the guys anymore. It is sad that the Chief has fallen victim to politics instead of doing the right thing for the guys and making sure that they are safe.

[ktb9780]

Thanks Kurt.
Definitely a lot of political shinanigans going on. It is too bad because now it just isn't safe for the guys anymore. It is sad that the Chief has fallen victim to politics instead of doing the right thing for the guys and making sure that they are safe.

Although I can certainly sympathize with your situation and in principle agree that politics should not be involved in decisions involving public safety, I would caution you that "until you have walked a mile in those moccasins" and worn the mantle of "the buck stops here" you may wish to temper your gut reaction that this decision was made without due regard for safety of the line officers.

I am not criticizing your view here but IMHO the issue may be far more complex than you realize and the current state of the economy is "forcing" decisions for Chiefs in departments across the nation, that under different economic circumstances would never have been considered otherwise. These are very, very tough times for the administrators of departments who must serve "many masters" and who themselves are being placed in untenable positions of complying with orders from above to "slash and burn" their budgets and dealing with conditions for which no other tenable option exists. I beleive I would be grateful that your Chief did not let the "axe" fall at the front line officers and extend the benefit of the doubt here that when considering all aspects, this may have been the cut least likely to effect continuity and the safety of operations.

[DWFAN7777]

Although I can certainly sympathize with your situation and in principle agree that politics should not be involved in decisions involving public safety, I would caution you that "until you have walked a mile in those moccasins" and worn the mantle of "the buck stops here" you may wish to temper your gut reaction that this decision was made without due regard for safety of the line officers.

I am not criticizing your view here but IMHO the issue may be far more complex than you realize and the current state of the economy is "forcing" decisions for Chiefs in departments across the nation, that under different economic circumstances would never have been considered otherwise. These are very, very tough times for the administrators of departments who must serve "many masters" and who themselves are being placed in untenable positions of complying with orders from above to "slash and burn" their budgets and dealing with conditions for which no other tenable option exists. I beleive I would be grateful that your Chief did not let the "axe" fall at the front line officers and extend the benefit of the doubt here that when considering all aspects, this may have been the cut least likely to effect continuity and the safety of operations.

Yes, there is a lot more to the story than you know. Unfortunately, there are not enough pages to quote all of the facts. There were many other options that could have been taken. The decison was purely political and none other. When the President of the IAFF says that he no longer feels safe without the Fire Marshal's plan develoment review, natural gas expertise, adherance to code and REFUSAL to rubber stamp inspections makes it clear that the chief did not consider the safety of the firefighters or make the proper budgetary decision. In addition, the Fire Marshalls office brought in an additional $500k this past year above the budgeted amount in permit fees. The FM put a plan in place that reduced False Fire Alarms by 50%. Assistant Chiefs with poor job ratings and probabtionalry actions were not considered for layoff. Pure Political BS. Excessive Average response times that go against town ordinance were brushed under the rug. The citizens shall suffer as well.

[ktb9780]

Yes, there is a lot more to the story than you know. Unfortunately, there are not enough pages to quote all of the facts. There were many other options that could have been taken. The decison was purely political and none other. When the President of the IAFF says that he no longer feels safe without the Fire Marshal's plan develoment review, natural gas expertise, adherance to code and REFUSAL to rubber stamp inspections makes it clear that the chief did not consider the safety of the firefighters or make the proper budgetary decision. In addition, the Fire Marshalls office brought in an additional $500k this past year above the budgeted amount in permit fees. The FM put a plan in place that reduced False Fire Alarms by 50%. Assistant Chiefs with poor job ratings and probabtionalry actions were not considered for layoff. Pure Political BS. Excessive Average response times that go against town ordinance were brushed under the rug. The citizens shall suffer as well.

Well, that is truly unfortunate but, it appears it would not raise sufficient ire to warrant a violation of the terms of award. Be careful guys, extra vigilance is certainly warranted.

[LVFD301]

http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-he...ant-questioned

Interesting twists, of course it is the media, who knows what is really going on.

[BC79er]

If they are quoting the application where it mentioned building condition sounds like a big difference between narrative and reality....