Fall River Herald News Guest Opinion

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Guest Opinion: Can the Fall River Fire Department operate with 153 firefighters?

Paul Ford

Posted Apr. 5, 2014

Can the Fall River Fire Department operate with 153 firefighters? Of course it can. However, the more important question would be, “At what cost?” If I may, allow me to offer my opinion, one gained by actually being the only fire chief forced to operate the department at that manning level to date.

In early 2009, the governor saw fit to drastically reduce the local aide to various communities nearly three quarters of the way through the fiscal year. With that news, then Mayor Robert Correira had to make a decision in five seconds (figuratively speaking). The city’s anticipated aide was cut by millions of dollars with just three months of the fiscal year left. Extreme cuts were necessary and the Fire Department went from 216 budgeted positions to 153 budgeted positions. Many other departments experienced the same fate.

Now it’s 2014, and the city administration has had literally five years to anticipate and prepare for this day, yet the solution is the same as when the city was taken by surprise: reduce the FRED to 153 firefighters. The real question is why are we here again, with absolutely no improvement in the city’s capacity to properly fund an adequate fire department?
TO READ THE ENTIRE GUEST OPINION: CLICK HERE

Support FRFD Signs Now Available!

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Signs are now available.  Show your support by placing a sign in your yard, window, or business!

Contact a firefighter you know, or find one on Facebook.

signs small IMG_20140402_192436

Fall River Herald News Guest Opinion

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Guest Opinion: Don’t let Flanagan’s FRFD ‘solution’ endanger public safety more

Joshua Hetzler

Posted Apr. 2, 2014

I would like to clear up a few misconceptions that a number of people have in reference to Fall River Fire Department staffing levels and the proposed layoffs. If the layoffs occur, our city will not meet the National Fire Protection Associations standards for fire protection, and our citizens will be at a greater risk than they are today. The answer that the city’s administration and some citizens are proposing to solve this problem is irresponsible.

That would fund only 153 out of the current 213 firefighter positions that are filled. To make up for the reduction in manpower and attempt to meet those NFPA standards, they plan on training all the paramedics in our Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services division as firefighters and taking some of the firefighters in Fall River’s Fire Prevention Bureau and putting them on a fire truck so they can respond to fires. Neither one of these options is possible.

First of all, making the paramedics become firefighters will not add one firefighter to the department. That newly trained paramedic/firefighter will almost never get a chance to practice their skills because the paramedics in Fall River are busy all day. It is very rare that they are not on a call.

The paramedics are so busy that the city asks for mutual aid from surrounding departments almost daily to help save the lives of those in Fall River. So taking these paramedics and making them firefighters solves nothing. It only adds to compromising our public safety and would increase our request for mutual aid from surrounding towns, leaving their citizens at risk.

 

TO READ THE ENTIRE GUEST OPINION: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Article

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City officials quick to begin assessing projected $16.7 million shortfall for fiscal 2015 budget

The entrance to the city collector's office at Fall River Government Center. City councilors and administrators are trying to work together early to confront and manage a projected fiscal 2015 budget shortfall of more than $16 million.

Herald News Photo | Dave Souza
Jo C. Goode
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Apr. 1, 2014

FALL RIVER — City Council President Joseph Camara reiterated a point he made at Monday night’s joint City Council and School Committee meeting when it was learned the city could face a more than $16.7 million shortfall going into fiscal 2015 — the administration and the School Department need to get together now and find solutions….

 

Flanagan said he’s met with the fire chief and a former district fire chief “to look at ways we can take the firefighters and move them onto the fire trucks.”

Not all firefighters fight fires, Flanagan said, with some doing inspections and some acting as paramedics.

“We’re going to take as many bodies and move them on the fire trucks,” Flanagan told the crowd.

Flanagan said that is highly unlikely that staffing would go to 200, the number the mayor originally planned.

“That’s realistic,” Flanagan said, “However, any cuts we make to the fire department will be a temporary cut. I want to bring those firefighters back as soon as possible.”

Whether the mayor can muster the backing of the City Council to make those cuts is in doubt.

Camara said he and his fellow councilors would not approve a budget with a fire department that has a complement of 153 firefighters.

Mitchell called Flanagan’s plan “foolhardy” and not something he will support.

TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Letter

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Letter: Firefighters deserve more respect, Mayor Flanagan

Kerri Thro

Posted Mar. 29, 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an open letter to Mayor Will Flanagan from Kerri Thro, whose home was destroyed in the 2012 Hood Street fire.

Mr. Mayor,

It has been a little over two years since you stood with me on a freezing, windy evening and watched my home burn to the ground. My whole life, everything my husband and I worked so hard for, gone — all in about 30 minutes, tops. That night I knew almost right away that it was too late for my home to be saved. The firefighters had to focus their attention on keeping the surrounding houses from also catching fire. At one point, I feared our whole neighborhood would be burned to the ground.

I ask you, if this were to happen again, would an understaffed fire department be able to handle this type of blaze? Would the response time be fast enough to prevent the fire from spreading? Would there be enough trucks and men to control this type of fire?

My family, along with my former tenants, might have lost everything that night, but it brought me some comfort knowing many of my neighbors’ homes were spared. I will not sit here and tell you I know a lot about politics, because I do not. This is not directed only to you, Mr. Mayor, but to all politicians who play a role in this decision.

Politics or not, no matter who you are or how much you try, unless you have experienced a tragedy of this type firsthand, there is no understanding the hurt, pain and empty feeling this leaves you with. With that being said, residents in Fall River should not have to live in fear that if a fire were to happen in their home, that there would be no hope for saving it because of an understaffed fire department.

I also know that many will say we will still fall within the guidelines to keep the residents safe. I completely disagree with that statement. That night has left an empty spot in my heart that I think about every day and has changed the way I see many things. One of the biggest things is that I hold the highest respect for firefighters and what they do every day — not that I didn’t respect them before, but it gets magnified seeing them work first hand on your own home.

This job takes a certain type of person, one who will put their own life on the line for a complete stranger everyday. Men and women who choose to do this work should not have to fight to keep their jobs, nor should they have to live in fear of losing their livelihood. They should be praised every day for their commitment and hard work that they do.

TO READ THE LETTER ONLINE: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Editorial

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Our View: Flanagan is playing with fire

By Herald News Editorial Board
Posted Mar. 26, 2014

It’s sometimes difficult to discern fact from fiction when it comes to the information coming from Mayor Will Flanagan and his administration. The latest case in point: the city’s “surprise” deficit. The administration only this month revealed to the City Council that the city faced a $10 million deficit, necessitating the potential layoffs of firefighters Flanagan announced in February.

Come to find out the administration, way back in August, identified that projected budget gap to federal officials in justifying the need for additional funding in its 2013 SAFER grant application.

So what did the administration know and when did they know it? The story told in the SAFER grant application in August belies the rosy picture painted by the administration to the council and the public for nearly a year now. In June, former City Administrator Shawn Cadime and Treasurer John Nunes told the City Council that the city’s finances “had never been better,” City Council President Joseph Camara recalled Tuesday. In October, the administration reported to the council that the city’s bond rating had increased and it was solvent, recalled Councilor Michael Miozza, who requested the review of the 20013 grant application.

TO READ THE ENTIRE EDITORIAL: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Article

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Firefighters union, City Council say SAFER application from Aug. 2013 contradicts mayor’s recent statements

Fall River Fire Department District Chief James Mellen, left, who is vice president of the firefighters Local 1314, points out what he says are discrepancies in Mayor Will Flanagan's statements regarding proposed fire department staffing levels. Seated next to Mellen is the union local's president, Firefighter Jason Burns. Union members in the audience are wearing white T-shirts.

Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
Jo C. Goode
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Mar. 26, 2014

FALL RIVER — Mayor Will Flanagan’s administration identified a $10 million budget shortfall in August 2013 and acknowledged that a reduction in firefighters would put the city’s safety at risk, according to information contained in a 2013 SAFER grant application.

But those facts contradict recent statements made by the administration claiming that the shortfall wasn’t discovered until January and claims by Flanagan that the planned layoffs of 60 firefighters would still keep the city within federal fire safety standards.

During the public comment portion of the City Council meeting Tuesday night, union representatives of the firefighters Local 1314 outlined those facts after a request from City Councilor Michael Miozza to review the 2013 SAFER grant.

Union President Jason Burns said that, when he was hired as a firefighter for the city, he took an oath to protect and serve, whether it was to fight fires or respond to other emergencies.

TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Article

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Under SAFER pact, city could be forced to foot bill if layoffs occur in July

Firefighters at the Central Fire Station, shown here, said that, by 2:30 p.m., they hadn't heard directly from officials about the potential cuts.

Herald News Photo | Dave Souza
Jo C. Goode
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Mar. 26, 2014

FALL RIVER — If Mayor Will Flanagan moves ahead with planned layoffs in July, the city could be on the hook to repay the $14.4 million SAFER grant.

According to firefighters Local 1314 President Jason Burns and Fall River Fire District Chief James Mellen, the union’s vice president, terms of the grant dictate that through “the performance period,” which runs through mid-September, there can be no layoffs or else the grant must be repaid.

TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE: CLICK HERE

Fall River Herald News Guest Opinion

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Guest Opinion: What will be left of Fall River Fire Department?

Tommy Texeira

Posted Mar. 25, 2014

The mayor and the Fall River Fire Department seem to have conflicting opinions in regards to how many firefighters are needed to safely protect a city the size Fall River. How many men are necessary? The mayor has given a statement in his “Statement regarding the Fall River Fire Department,” and Fire Chief Robert Viveiros made a statement at the City Council meeting on finances (March 11). Let’s start with an excerpt from the mayor’s statement:

“The SAFER grant will be expiring this year and the current compliment of firefighters is at a level of 213. Through its work, the SAFER Grant Task Force has determined that an adequate level of staffing should be a compliment of 200.”

The mayor states that the city will be cutting 60 positions and at 153 firefighters, national standard response times will be met (which is disputed by fire department union officials).

 

TO READ THE ENTIRE GUEST OPINION: CLICK HERE

Fall River Fire Department Pickets for Support

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70+ firefighters and supporters picketed at Academica Restaurant on South Main Street, outside of a Fundraiser for Mayor Flanagan. The mayor’s plan is to cut 60 firefighters from the department.  Signs that read “Public Safety first, No Layoffs” were held by those protesting, along with wearing “Support FRFD” t-shirts.