{"id":580,"date":"2010-04-02T16:12:23","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T23:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=580"},"modified":"2011-02-27T16:13:22","modified_gmt":"2011-02-28T00:13:22","slug":"4210-editorial-smfd-volunteers-%e2%80%93-heroes-or-hosers-where-does-your-candidate-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=580","title":{"rendered":"(4\/2\/10) Editorial – SMFD Volunteers \u2013 Heroes or Hosers? Where Does Your Candidate Stand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This editorial is the opinion of Bill Coburn, publisher of Sierra Madre News Net and 15 year Sierra Madre resident.\u00a0 It is not intended to reflect the views of any other person or entity with whom I am associated.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the days following the Santa Anita Fire in April and May of 2008, the grateful residents of this town made no secret of their gratitude to the heroes who stood along the fire lines and fought back the flames that were destroying much of the hillside behind our village, manning fronts along the fire line, protecting their neighbors, and preventing the loss of even a single home, though the flames came within striking distance at multiple locations.\u00a0 Home made signs sprung up, letters to the editor were written, and Sierra Madreans stood up at local public meetings to express their undying gratitude to the volunteers of the Sierra Madre Fire Department.<\/p>\n

Now, just two years later, some members of the community seem to have forgotten that it was these firefighting heroes, along with fire departments from all over California, that saved this town from destruction.\u00a0 Apparently for some, \u201cgratitude\u201d doesn\u2019t have the shelf life it once did.<\/p>\n

A few nights ago, bloggers posted comments on Sierra Madre Tattler, the blog operated by City Council candidate John Crawford, calling the Department \u201cthe laughing stock of the state.\u201d\u00a0 Naturally, as often happens, the Department\u2019s leader was the lightning rod.\u00a0 One blogger stated that SMFD Chief \u201cSteve Heydorf (sic), who is currently getting paid over $120,000 a year to be our “volunteer” fire Chief does nothing except either sit on his fat butt all day in the Development Services department, or drive around in the shiny, brand new, command vehicle doing his personal errands.\u201d\u00a0 Another poster said the department is \u201c\u2026just an ‘elite’ club of self-important windbags now, with questionable ability to battle a wastebasket fire.\u201d\u00a0 Apparently, their ability to fight fires has undergone a rapid decline, having gone from a successful defense against walls of flame racing down hillsides toward our homes, to, according to this poster, an inability to extinguish a few burning pieces of paper.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the Fire Department that took the hits, nearly half of your non-firefighting neighbors were accused of wanting their neighbors\u2019 homes to burn:\u00a0 \u201cI’ve heard the DIRTS say before, that they wish a huge fire would burn down every house in the canyon. No wonder why they had no problem with Lowe\/Heydorf (sic)\/Bamberger\/Burnett taking Fire Dept. vehicles out of the city for personal use. Who needs a Fire Department when you’re waiting for the whole city to burn up in flames.\u201d\u00a0 For the unaware, DIRTS is the term used on Crawford\u2019s blog to describe opponents of Measure V, the controversial ordinance limiting downtown development which in 2007 eked out a victory of fewer than 100 votes out of 3,500 votes cast. I\u2019m not sure how disagreeing with someone over the methods used to limit growth downtown translates to a desire to see our historic canyon burn, but apparently, if this poster is to be believed, that\u2019s what \u201cthe dirts\u201d want.<\/p>\n

But most of the negativity was directed at the Dept. itself:\u00a0 \u201cFor a long, long time they protected the city with a pair of 1950’s era Crown fire engines just fine. There were a couple of 2nd or 3rd hand support vehicles. Now they have several late model engines, a ladder truck, ambulances, water tankers, suburbans, Tahoe, etc. etc. etc. All that’s missing is a helicopter but I have a hunch they have tried to figure out how to get one!…Why do we give these guys any toy they want, whenever they want???\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe people in charge of the fire department are DIRTS, just like everyone in city Hall. They don’t have a problem wasting our money because they would love to see Sierra Madre go bankrupt\u2026 If you’re wondering why they’re able to get away with it, it’s because their boss, the city manager, is a died in the wool dirt, just like them.\u201d\u00a0 The logic of that statement escapes me.\u00a0 Does this person really think it\u2019s Elaine Aguilar\u2019s goal to drive the city bankrupt, which would, of course, leave her without a job?\u00a0 But I digress.\u00a0 \u201cConsidering the sums of money that have been and are being wasted on that club, I would support contracting out fire services as well. For a few hundred thousand dollars more a year, we can get professional fire fighters, that can actually save lives and property, instead of a bunch of pictures of a burned out building and a death certificate.\u201d\u00a0 Ouch.<\/p>\n

The men and women of the Sierra Madre Fire Department spend long hours training WITH NO PAY so that they will be prepared to, WITH NO PAY, get up in the middle of the night to, WITH NO PAY, leave the warmth of their homes and the loving arms of their family and WITH NO PAY rush to your home and WITH NO PAY save our pets, our possessions, our property or in some cases, our lives.\u00a0 And they do this for false alarms and non-emergencies, as well.\u00a0 Did I mention that they do this, without pay?\u00a0 According to Salary.com, the median salary for a firefighter in the U.S. is in excess of $40,000\/yr., significantly more than the $0 paid to all but three Sierra Madre firefighters.<\/p>\n

One would expect that a City Council candidate in a town that has traditionally taken great pride in its fire department, which is now more than ninety years old, would say a few words in support of these brave men and women, if only to safeguard the votes of the members of the department and the residents who appreciate and support the department.\u00a0 Yet Crawford remained silent, allowing his supporters to denigrate the firefighters without a single word in their defense.\u00a0 Should his silence be interpreted as tacit agreement with the folks who would so willingly dishonor our hometown heroes?\u00a0 And by extension, the other members of the Crawford\/Alcorn\/Watts slate, since they \u201chave like beliefs and ideas?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ordinarily, I wouldn\u2019t feel that a person is responsible for things that other people say.\u00a0 However, in this election, Candidate John Crawford has asked voters to \u201cSend this blog to the City Council\u201d in his request for donations to fund his campaign.\u00a0 As such, I think it\u2019s fair to consider the content of the entire blog, and not just Mr. Crawford\u2019s personal observations on the blog, when considering whether or not to vote for Mr. Crawford, thereby sending \u201cthis blog to the City Council.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Mr. Crawford chose to remain silent in the face of this criticism of one of Sierra Madre\u2019s most revered institutions, I can\u2019t say if that silence is agreement with his supporters, but it makes me wonder –\u00a0 should this slate become the majority on the City Council, will the Department survive to celebrate a centennial?\u00a0 A thought I hope Sierra Madre voters will consider when they cast their votes on April 13th.\u00a0 After all, the Council was considering proposals to possibly outsource fire suppression, but it was delayed until after the election, and while I didn\u2019t see the meeting, I\u2019m told that it was at the suggestion of one of the members of the slate, Council Member Don Watts.<\/p>\n

In full disclosure, I have a personal stake in this discussion.\u00a0 My brother-in-law, Battalion Chief Bob Burnett, has been on the Department nearly twenty-five years.\u00a0 I also have a brother that is a paramedic and firefighter in another department.\u00a0 So maybe I\u2019m a little overly-sensitive to unwarranted criticism of the people who invest so much of their lives in protecting ours.<\/p>\n

I thought that in closing, it might be beneficial to talk a little about the Department.\u00a0 Perhaps the people who were so willing to berate our VOLUNTEERS just don\u2019t know enough about the department, and would not have taken it to task if they knew a little more about it.\u00a0 So here\u2019s a little history, and a few facts about our department.<\/p>\n

According to an article written by then Fire Dept. Chief Jim Heasley in the June 9th, 1949 edition of the Sierra Madre News, SMFD was started after a disastrous fire in 1919, in which a bakery burned and \u201cthe fire could not be controlled by the local untrained men without proper equipment.\u00a0 Only a hand hose cart was then in use.\u201d\u00a0 Monrovia Fire Dept. was called in, but the local business owners felt that more and better fire protection was needed.\u00a0 At its next meeting, the Board of Trade (precursor to the Chamber of Commerce), appointed two men to investigate the costs of Sierra Madre obtaining a fire engine and other equipment.\u00a0 During a demonstration of an engine, a local boy was \u201cbadly crippled by having his leg broken when the high pressure hose escaped the hands of the amateur fire fighters.\u00a0 This proved more than ever the necessity of a trained fire fighting force.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Shortly thereafter, the Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Department was organized.\u00a0 According to Heasley, \u201cThere were so many men who wanted to join the fire department that it was necessary to organize a \u201cFiremen\u2019s Club\u201d made up of men of all trades and businesses of the City.\u201d\u00a0 Today, ninety years later, that tradition continues, with the addition of women to the ranks, and, in 2007, paramedics.<\/p>\n

A few facts about Sierra Madre\u2019s Volunteer Fire Department:<\/p>\n

The Department currently is fully staffed, with 54 volunteers, three paid personnel and 27 paramedics.\u00a0 The Fire Chief oversees the administrative functions, daily operations, and response capabilities of the Sierra Madre Fire Department. The three Battalion Chiefs oversee fire prevention, training, personnel, and EMS training and quality assurance, as well as rotating the on duty battalion chief responsibilities. The six Fire Captains oversee crew training, station maintenance and equipment, and first in district pre-plans.<\/p>\n

The Department currently has an ISO rating of 4, on a scale of 1 through 10.\u00a0 Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet ISO’s minimum criteria.\u00a0 In my opinion, a Class four rating is hardly in the category of a \u201claughing stock of the state.\u201d This rating is developed according to ISO\u2019s Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).\u00a0 The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire-suppression system. Ten percent of the overall grading is based on how well the fire department receives fire alarms and dispatches its fire-fighting resources, i.e., communication center, dispatch, etc.\u00a0 Fifty percent of the overall grading is based on the number of engine companies and the amount of water a community needs to fight a fire. ISO reviews the distribution of fire companies throughout the area and checks that the fire department tests its pumps regularly and inventories each engine company’s nozzles, hoses, breathing apparatus, and other equipment.\u00a0 Forty percent of the grading is based on the community’s water supply. This part of the survey focuses on whether the community has sufficient water supply for fire suppression beyond daily maximum consumption. ISO surveys all components of the water supply system, including pumps, storage, and filtration.<\/p>\n

The Sierra Madre Fire Department has a 1989 Mack Type 1 Engine, soon to be replaced, and a 2000 E-ONE; a 2,800 gallon Water Tender; one Chief\u2019s vehicle; one Command Vehicle; an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) trailer; a Utility truck; a Brush Patrol Truck; and two Rescue Ambulances.\u00a0 It should be noted that contrary to the blogger\u2019s impression that we \u201cgive these guys any toy they want, whenever they want,\u201d our newest engine is ten years old.\u00a0 The Water Tender truck is nearly 35 years old.\u00a0 We are all aware of the explosion that has taken place in technology in the last thirty years, fire suppression technology, too, has changed dramatically since much of the equipment that Sierra Madre\u2019s Fire Department uses was manufactured.\u00a0 Public safety should be a top priority for our City officials \u2013 THAT\u2019S why we should give these guys new toys.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a generous gift from the Rotary Club last year, the trucks are now outfitted with state of the art radio communication systems.\u00a0 Prior to Rotary\u2019s gift, some of the engines were operating with outdated equipment that did not adhere to the Homeland Security communication standards established after 9\/11.\u00a0 Thank you Rotary!<\/p>\n

During 2009, the Department responded to 28 fire calls, 590 medical calls (about 480 of which were Advanced Life Support Calls) and 200 service calls.\u00a0 2009 was the third consecutive year in which the Department responded to more than 800 calls. The Department responds to all first alarm brush responses in the San Gabriel Mountains above the City of Sierra Madre with the Cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Pasadena, the County of Los Angeles, and the United States Forest Service.\u00a0 The Department also participates in the California State-wide Mutual Aid Program by providing resources for the State of California Office of Emergency Services with the OES Engine.<\/p>\n

Property damage in 2009 was less than $160,000, with structure fires at $130,000, vehicle fires at about $24,000, and miscellaneous fires just under $2000.\u00a0 There were 4 major OES calls, including the Station Fire, which totaled about 2,700 man hours.\u00a0 Personnel costs for those responses were just under $100,000, but the Department received more than $215,000 in state reimbursement, so revenue from OES was nearly $120,000.\u00a0 Additionally, the Emergency Medical Service calls generated $285,000.\u00a0 Total revenue from the department was nearly $400,000.\u00a0 Additionally, the department received a FEMA grant of $178,000.<\/p>\n

Members of the Department accrued more than 11,000 hours of training in 2009, with more than 7,300 of that being standard training, and 4,200 hours of Academy training (14 shift firefighters undergoing more than 300 hours of Academy training).\u00a0 The average number of training hours per month per firefighter was eighteen.\u00a0 The training undertaken by our Fire Dept. was about a 110% increase from five years ago.<\/p>\n

Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago, Euripedes said that you can judge a man by the company he keeps.\u00a0 This timeless axiom holds true today.\u00a0 If the John Crawford supporters who were so quick to disparage the men and women of our fire department are indicative of the kind of company he keeps, I think we\u2019d be better off if he wasn\u2019t on our City Council.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I will show my support of the Fire Department by voting for Mosca, Moran and Walsh, and I urge all Sierra Madre voters to do the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This editorial is the opinion of Bill Coburn, publisher of Sierra Madre News Net and 15 year Sierra Madre resident.\u00a0 It is not intended to reflect the views of any other person or entity with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[58,30,53,57],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}