ABSTRACT: In The Carmel Pine Cone of March 14, 2008, there appeared an ad, “An Open Letter from the City Administrator Regarding Fire Department Staffing.” This 'Open Letter' is reproduced with Rebuttals/Clarifications from sources August Beacham, Engineer and President of the Carmel Professional Firefighters and the International Association of Fire Fighters. COMMENTS are made regarding whom do you believe, the City withdrawing from consolidation discussions and the relative budgets of the Fire Department and Police Department. REFERENCE excerpts from the City's Budget regarding the Fire and Police Departments and NOTES on the International Association of Fire Fighters are presented.
An Open Letter from the City Administrator
Regarding Fire Department Staffing
The City of Carmel-by-the Sea values all of its employees and recognizes the important role they play in providing effective, efficient service. Whenever a critical, life-saving emergency arises, our staff at the Carmel Fire Department consistently provides the highest level of service to the citizens of our community, and the vital role they play can not be overemphasized. Nevertheless, there are some facts below that I hope will clarify statements by representatives of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 4579.
1. Minimum staffing levels: The Fire Department is staffed to initially respond to an emergency with four fire fighters and a Duty Chief. This staffing level complies with what is commonly referred to as the “2-in/2-out” OSHA regulation which requires fire fighters to work in teams of two. One team enters a building while the second team remains outside and ready to immediately rescue the inside team. Two of four firefighters are Carmel Regional Fire Ambulance (CRFA) employees who are also certified for medical aid. One is a fire fighter/paramedic and the other is a fire fighter/EMT (emergency medical technician). This staffing ensures that advanced life saving capabilities are included as part of the fire department’s initial response.
REBUTTAL/CLARIFICATION:
•OSHA’s two-in/two-out regulation is a “respiratory protection standard.” It requires employers to “establish and maintain a respiratory protection program for their respirator-wearing employees.” Moreover, “OSHA’s respiratory protection standard is not about counting heads. Rather, it dictates functions of fire fighters prior to an interior attack.” These regulations mean that at a minimum, four individuals are required, that is, two individuals working as a team in the interior of the structural fire and two individuals outside the structure for assistance or rescue.
(Source: http://www.iaff.org/hs/PDF/2in2out.pdf)
• The two-person crew on the ambulance stationed in Carmel also responds to emergencies when available. In the case of a fire, in which two firefighters are required to stay outside a burning building while two others enter, the ambulance provides two of the necessary four.
“They have gotten used to the ambulance taking up the slack, even though their own study in February 2003 said that was temporary at best,” Beacham said.
And though neighboring agencies such as Cypress Fire Protection District also send engines to fires in Carmel as part of an automatic aid agreement, “the consultant’s report was very clear in the need for additional staffing for Carmel Fire Department,” Beacham said.
(Source: The Carmel Pine Cone, Firefighters call for merger with P.G., Monterey, MARY BROWNFIELD, February 29, 2008, http://www.pineconearchive.com/080229-4.htm)
•“ Carmel Fire Department is challenged with maintaining proper staffing levels to provide the best level of service to its citizens. Because of the staffing response challenge at Carmel Fire Department, our diminished volunteer base and government standards and laws, which address staffing and response concerns, Carmel Fire Department is continuing to operate at less than minimum staffing, according to the standards of the National Fire Protection Association and OSHA laws.”
(Source: August Beacham, http://villageinforest.blogspot.com/2008/03/part-i-august-beacham-president-of.html)
2. Consolidating fire service with Monterey and Pacific Grove: The cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey and Pacific Grove continue to discuss “headquarters” consolidation–not full departmental integration. Headquarters consolidation means that “only” fire administration is consolidated, i.e. fire chief, assistant fire chief, clerical support, etc. The city successfully implemented headquarters consolidation in 2001 and now has a contract for $110,000 with Pacific Grove Fire Department to provide this service.
REBUTTAL:
• CFD falls below staffing levels recommended by the National Fire Protection Association. While that standard calls for four people per fire engine, Carmel sends two — a captain and an engineer. It has no chief, assistant chief, supervisors, fire marshal, training officer or clerical staff.
Instead, for $110,000 per year, the city contracts with Pacific Grove for chief services and an administrative coordinator who works 12 hours per week, and for supervisors to come from Monterey during emergencies.
“The city has gotten used to this $110,000, thinking it’s normal,” Beacham said. But in reality, the price is so low, it almost constitutes a gift, he argued.
(Source: The Carmel Pine Cone, Firefighters call for merger with P.G., Monterey, MARY BROWNFIELD, February 29, 2008, http://www.pineconearchive.com/080229-4.htm)
3. Staffing during critical emergencies: If an emergency requires more resources, the fire department has systems in place to respond with extra staffing and equipment. These systems include any one or all of the following:
• 13 paid volunteers, including intermittent engineers, paid call fire fighters, and a paid call battalion chief
• Call-back of full time fire department personnel
• Automatic and Mutual Aid from nearby allied fire departments; in such cases, additional fire trucks and personnel will respond as needed. In past incidents, as many as five additional fire trucks arrived in Carmel within a very short period of time.
REBUTTAL/CLARIFICATION:
• “We are understaffed and underfunded, and have been for some time,” he (August Beacham) said.
Federal safety standards call for 14 or 15 firefighters initially responding to a blaze, according to the union, “to extinguish the fire, rescue citizens from the burning structure, treat the medical needs of the citizens, have backup crews available and have separate standby crews in a state of readiness to initiate firefighter rescue efforts if needed.”
Even with fire engines, chiefs and supervisors responding from other agencies, and the ambulance, Carmel’s numbers fall far below that, as do its response times, according to the union.
(Source: The Carmel Pine Cone, Firefighters call for merger with P.G., Monterey, MARY BROWNFIELD, February 29, 2008, http://www.pineconearchive.com/080229-4.htm)
Rest assured that your safety will never be compromised nor will the city ever place our fire fighters at risk. Having made this statement, it does not exclude the city from acting in a financially responsible manner. It is always our goal to provide you with exceptional public safety service.
REBUTTAL:
• Choosing to continue with the status quo “means the city is willing to accept all of the risks, including personal liability, and is willing to compromise the safety of the citizens, by having an improperly structured emergency response system,” according to the union. “Combining staffing and resources from several independent fire departments into one consolidated department will deliver the ‘right amount of people in the right amount of time’ in critical emergencies. By doing so, not only are the citizens receiving the level of service they deserve and are entitled to, the emergency responders are able to perform their duties more efficiently and, most importantly, more safely.”
(Source: The Carmel Pine Cone, Firefighters call for merger with P.G., Monterey, MARY BROWNFIELD, February 29, 2008, http://www.pineconearchive.com/080229-4.htm)
Please call me at (831) 620-2058 or stop by City Hall to ask any questions regarding these facts.
Sincerely,
Rich Guillen
City Administrator
COMMENTS:
• Whom do you believe? August Beacham, Engineer and President of the Carmel Professional Firefighters or City Administrator Rich Guillen, a City Administrator with a record of politicizing the Fire Department and using “acting in a financially responsible manner” as a guise for not expeditiously moving forward with the consolidation of the Carmel, Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments, which is supported by the Carmel Firefighers for safety reasons?
• As reported in The Carmel Pine Cone, Carmel-by-the-Sea “withdrew a few months ago” from consolidation discussions with the Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments. Moreover, August Beacham stated that “the City of Carmel is continuing to consider other options, all of which are cost prohibitive and results in lower levels of services. This includes possibly reverting back to a single station fire department with stripped down staffing levels of years past" at the City Council meeting on March 4, 2008.
• For Fiscal Year 2007/08, the budgets for the Police and Fire Departments are FY 2007/08 $2,673,132 and $1,678,154, respectively. Given these objective budget values, one inescapable conclusion is that subjective and irrational factors are driving the conscious decision to shortchange the Fire Department. It could be further argued that given the nature of “crime” in Carmel-by-the-Sea and the number and nature of fire and fire-related incidences in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Fire Department budget should be at least on par with the Police Department, which raises the prospect that the City overfunds the Police Department at the expense of the Fire Department and the citizens of the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
REFERENCE:
FIRE
The Carmel Fire Department's primary responsibility is to save lives and protect property through the prevention and control of fires. This responsibility encompasses other emergencies including medical, automobile accidents and extrication, hazardous material spills, natural gas leaks, downed power lines, flooded basements and minor electrical problems.
The Fire Department provides educational programs for residents and the business community in the areas of fire prevention and public safety by conducting inspections, speaking to local schools and service clubs and offering instructional classes.
The Department also has primary responsibility for disaster preparedness for the community. This duty involves coordination with other agencies and City staff, public education, preparation and administration of the disaster plan.
POLICE
The Department is comprised of two divisions. The Administrative Division includes the detective, police services and reserve officer units. The Operations Division is comprised of the patrol and parking units. The Police Department enforces all laws and regulations enacted by the local, state and federal governments. The essential goal of the Department is "to protect and serve" with primary responsibility for ensuring the rights of citizens and visitors to live in peace and safety.
FULL TIME EMPLOYEES
FIRE: 6 Full Time Employees
Fire Captain (3)
Engineer (3)
POLICE: 22 Full Time Employees
Public Safety Director/Police Chief (1)
Sergeant (4)
Corporal (1)
Officers (8)
PSO/CSO (6)
CSO (2)
Public Safety (Police/Fire) 28 Total Full Time Employees
(Source: CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA CALIFORNIA ADOPTED BUDGET FISCAL YEARS 2007/08 THROUGH 2009/10, http://www.ci.carmel.ca.us/)
NOTES:
• The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 287,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 85 percent of the nation’s population. More than 3,100 affiliates and their members protect communities in every state in the United States and in Canada.
NEW LOCAL IN May 2007:
Local 4579
Camel Professional Fire Fighters, CA
President: August Beacham
5 members
2 comments:
It is important for blog readers to know that as an alternative fire dept. setup, as of Jan. 28, 2008, the Carmel Fire Dept. is to remain independent, yet supposedly staffed and equipped in accordance to NFPT 1710, which is not feasible since the city refuses to acknowledege the costs involved. The system is cost prohibitive and results in overal lower levels of service to residents.
In short, the city of Carmel has stepped back from support of full consolidation of the fire depts. and is said to be looking at other options, all cost prohibitive and lower service.
From the Carmel Fire Dept.'s standpoint, the city of Carmel says it still sees a combined fire dept. as an option, and Rich Guillen says her personally supports it, but for some reason the fire chiefs and city managers from Monterey and Pcific Grove cannot understand, the city has pulled back and says it wants to consider other options which the city has not bothered to divulge.
To the question, whom do you believe? I believe and trust the judgment of the Carmel firefighters and so should every sane, intelligent Carmelite.
This guy Rich Guillen, he tells the Carmel firefighters one thing, then he tells the public another thing. I guess the words honesty and integrity are not in his vocabulary.
I wish the city managers and fire chiefs would publicly join the Carmel firefighters and demand from the city the reason the city has pulled back from fire department consolidation with Monterey and PG. It is so hard to believe the city is doing this to its own residents.
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