Wow, firefighters should buy their own gear.
- Thread starter MATT3045
- Start date
These dumb asses need be kicked off the board. There is other places to cut money instead of the Fire Protection or the Police protection. These are areas that should never be touched. One of these days they are going to cut them and then something happen and the town or council will be held responsible.
WOW!
Matt, it reminds me of when Bob bought his own cruiser, and everyone was ok with it until it went to council to approve the lease. One council person asked, "what if a firefighter buys his own engine, are we gonna lease it from him too?" Amazing how clueless some people in charge are, as to what we do. I think any elected or appointed official who has any oversight of public safety, should go on ride-alongs, and see why we need to the tools we are asking for.
Matt, it reminds me of when Bob bought his own cruiser, and everyone was ok with it until it went to council to approve the lease. One council person asked, "what if a firefighter buys his own engine, are we gonna lease it from him too?" Amazing how clueless some people in charge are, as to what we do. I think any elected or appointed official who has any oversight of public safety, should go on ride-alongs, and see why we need to the tools we are asking for.
Wow, just wow!
The one councilman tried to compare it to Dayton and Columbus. This is the City of Xenia. These guys are morons.
Ok, so what if a firefighter buys his own gear and it gets damaged in short order? Should s/he turn around and spend another $2K for another set or will the city foot the bill? Now they want to stop buying the LEO's body armor? These people should find somewhere else to cut.
I agree with ParkPiggy in that any elected or appointed official who has any oversight of public safety, should go on ride-alongs. I would even take it a step further and if possible have some sort of background in public safety if at all possible. We have a guy at our job with NO background in what we do and he just micro manages us in to the ground.
Saying turnout gear is custom tailored is a stretch IMO. Where I was at, there was really nothing but hand-me-downs (inspected and passed obviously) so I have put on gear that used to belong to someone and it fit just fine. The crap gear was used on the training dummy or just tossed.
The one councilman tried to compare it to Dayton and Columbus. This is the City of Xenia. These guys are morons.
Ok, so what if a firefighter buys his own gear and it gets damaged in short order? Should s/he turn around and spend another $2K for another set or will the city foot the bill? Now they want to stop buying the LEO's body armor? These people should find somewhere else to cut.
I agree with ParkPiggy in that any elected or appointed official who has any oversight of public safety, should go on ride-alongs. I would even take it a step further and if possible have some sort of background in public safety if at all possible. We have a guy at our job with NO background in what we do and he just micro manages us in to the ground.
Saying turnout gear is custom tailored is a stretch IMO. Where I was at, there was really nothing but hand-me-downs (inspected and passed obviously) so I have put on gear that used to belong to someone and it fit just fine. The crap gear was used on the training dummy or just tossed.
ParkPiggy said:
It is similar to that, and Bob should have been told no from the get go or approved.
I do know of some PD's that have the officers buy their own vests, but they also get $1500 uniform allowance a year and get to roll it over. So over the course of say 5 years, they could save for a vest no problem.
I think they get their first one issued, then after that they have to replace it with their uniform allowance. I also think they have to them inspected by a ranking officer every so often.chono said:
Um, the motion passed, the guys are getting their gear, so what's the point of complaining?
I can see the council's confusion: they are told that the gear has a lifespan of 10 years, but it's supposed to be replaced in 5, so which is it?. The chief mentions damaged or unserviceable gear, but doesn't exactly come out and say whether the purchase is to replace damaged gear, or just a cyclic replacement. The he say's it has to be "tailored;" tuxes gets "tailored," safety equipment is "fitted."
These are tough times for everybody. Maybe a with a little less chrome and fewer Q's it'd be easier to get turnout gear. What does the department need, versus what does it want? Agencies that are buying anything that isn't absolutely essential, like gas and tires, when they are facing layoffs, furloughs and reductions in things like insurance benefits, are nuts.
Everybody in my department with a halogen lightbar is screaming for LEDs, and there is zero money for it, so I ask them how many hours they want to work without pay, cause if they want it that bad, that's the only place the money can come from.
Maybe every cop, FF and EMT ought to spend some time in the auditor's office. They'll see that there isn't a machine that prints money.
I can see the council's confusion: they are told that the gear has a lifespan of 10 years, but it's supposed to be replaced in 5, so which is it?. The chief mentions damaged or unserviceable gear, but doesn't exactly come out and say whether the purchase is to replace damaged gear, or just a cyclic replacement. The he say's it has to be "tailored;" tuxes gets "tailored," safety equipment is "fitted."
These are tough times for everybody. Maybe a with a little less chrome and fewer Q's it'd be easier to get turnout gear. What does the department need, versus what does it want? Agencies that are buying anything that isn't absolutely essential, like gas and tires, when they are facing layoffs, furloughs and reductions in things like insurance benefits, are nuts.
Everybody in my department with a halogen lightbar is screaming for LEDs, and there is zero money for it, so I ask them how many hours they want to work without pay, cause if they want it that bad, that's the only place the money can come from.
Maybe every cop, FF and EMT ought to spend some time in the auditor's office. They'll see that there isn't a machine that prints money.
The situation in Xenia is political. The safety forces are locked in a battle with council over several things, and the initial denial of the turnout gear was a council member flexing his muscles. I was born and raised there. The police and fire departments were used to having the best of everything and the best pay. They are reeling from unprecedented budget cuts and layoffs. I understand both sides, but in that town neither side seems to want to work together.
Madam President reminds me a bit of Estelle Getty...seems a bit feisty...
The others made me cringe...
The others made me cringe...
FireEMSPolice said:
Uh, actually it started long before Obama, with things like COPSFAST grants, and then endless sucking at the DHS/FEMA teat for critical stuff like dosimeters that have sat in the basement unused and CBRN suits, which also are supposed to be replaced periodically, but nobody thought to budget for that, not that there has been much call for CBRN suits.
Any money they save trying to extend the life of turn out or body armor will not equal the cost of a LODD...
dustymedic said:
I agree 100%. I think this happens with alot of the politician type people who have no idea what goes on behind the scenes in the emergency services. Can a set of turnout gear last 10 years? In most places, yes, it probably could. Will it still look brand new and have all the integrety that it is supposed to have and keep to help protect, probably not. And sadly, all it will take is one LODD for them to realize they were wrong.
{I know THIS resolution was passed} but Cutting costs in EMS/FIRE/PD is not the way to go, especially when it comes to PPE.
Stop building dog parks and town pools
EMS10EMT said:
AMEN!!!!
Last year our township board bought a postage size piece of property (and when I say postage size, I mean just big enough to erect a billboard on) for $386,000 dollars because they didn't want any more billboards in the area. I say to that... if you can spend money like that, PPE and some extras on our new engine should not be an issue.
AdaFire38 said:
Yep. Its all priorities. If you build a nice pool or a new area to develop, great, but when your town's emergency services dont have the equipment needed to protect said area, you will run into problems down the road.
It IS priorities, and everybody thinks that their department should go to the front of the line. We may sneer at dog parks and swimming pools, but those go a long way to attracting people to stay, buy in or move to a community. Without maintaining a quality of life for the community, pretty soon there won't be one, and we'll ALL be out of work. When the sewer floater truck turns up it's tires and dies, that's GOT to be replaced, pronto.
It's our job to put ourselves out of business. If our fire- and crime prevention and code enforcement people are doing their job right, we shouldn't have much to do.
And oftentimes, if you cool your umbrage off long enough to check, you'll find that the dog parkers and swimming poolers are funding their stuff from grants or levys or user's fees, or have somehow encumbered funds that weren't going to emergency services anyway. It's easy to complain about them, but how many emergency services units actually lose money to stuff like libraries? Odds are, if it's happening, you have your own command and administrative staff to blame, for not crafting a well-thought out budget plan and fighting for what they need.
It's our job to put ourselves out of business. If our fire- and crime prevention and code enforcement people are doing their job right, we shouldn't have much to do.
And oftentimes, if you cool your umbrage off long enough to check, you'll find that the dog parkers and swimming poolers are funding their stuff from grants or levys or user's fees, or have somehow encumbered funds that weren't going to emergency services anyway. It's easy to complain about them, but how many emergency services units actually lose money to stuff like libraries? Odds are, if it's happening, you have your own command and administrative staff to blame, for not crafting a well-thought out budget plan and fighting for what they need.
im not complaining about dog parks or pools. My dog loves the park, and I enjoy a swim every now and then. Im lucky enough that the town i live in has them, and has had them for a while. i understand the importance of dog parks and pools in the sustainability of a town. I know they attract and keep people, but i dont think they are a necessity, there are plenty of towns around without them. i was just using them as examples.
your sewer truck that goes down, necessity, the lone police car in a small town that needs to be fixed is also a necessity. Same with the engine,ambulances, libraries and schools. there are a slew of things the towns need to spend the budgeted money on.
It is just my opinion, and nothing more than my opinion, that proper PPE for public safety professionals needs to be a necessity in towns.
your sewer truck that goes down, necessity, the lone police car in a small town that needs to be fixed is also a necessity. Same with the engine,ambulances, libraries and schools. there are a slew of things the towns need to spend the budgeted money on.
It is just my opinion, and nothing more than my opinion, that proper PPE for public safety professionals needs to be a necessity in towns.